Sterilized Bars
by Validis
Summary: Itachi gets sick and when Madara ends up taking care of him interesting issues arise. rated M for later chapters. I don't own Naruto or any characters.
1. Chapter 1

Sterilized Bars

_This is going to be a MadaraxItachi fic, set at the start of Itachi & Sasuke's fight in the manga. SPOILERS if you don't read the manga!! If you don't like the couple don't read. _

**Sterilized Bars**

_**& in the dark when you're all alone-**_

_**Whatever will you think?**_

_**Fear grasps your hand- makes you scream and moan-**_

_**Lord Death smirks and offers a wink.**_

_**Biting nails down onto flesh,**_

_**Shivering beneath cold sheets,**_

_**As old fears become fresh**_

_**& his boney fingers ensnare your feet…**_

_**You cry out.**_

_**No avail.**_

_**Dying shout**_

_**Transforms into pitiful wail.**_ ©

_Prologue_

_ Itachi stumbled again, trying to see through the darkness that was beginning to obscure his vision. Trying to ignore the concern practically radiating off of his shark-like partner, Kisame. It was only five more miles to their current hideout; he was sure he could make it._

_ Itachi didn't understand how he'd gotten so sick so fast; he'd been fine on the mission. Now the dizziness was making his already dark vision waver, so that the uneven path they were on seemed treacherous. He was so nauseous that he didn't know how he wasn't already puking his brains out. And then the pain started, exploding in his chest from nowhere. Enough to drive Uchiha Itachi to his knees. _

_ He couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't see. All he could do was feel. Feel the pain and how horribly sensitive it made his sweaty skin. He felt hot and then cold in rapid succession, struggling to stay conscious. Nothing had ever hurt like this before. _

_ He only realized he was hyperventilating when Kisame's voice finally broke through the impending darkness, barking at him to breathe and calm the fuck down. Itachi hadn't realized he'd been moaning and whimpering, crying like a little child. How disgraceful. But the panic in Kisame's voice got through to him and he managed to take slow, deep breathes through clenched teeth. All the while he fixated only on getting back to the hideout. Five more miles. _

_ Finally, gasping, he was able to get up. He was shaking. Kisame was one step from losing it; he'd never seen his partner like this. Itachi slowly trudged forwards, refusing help as he struggled. And Kisame knew that there was no way he was going to make it. Not with his raged breathing, flushed face, and chakara fluctuating all over the place. _

_ Itachi made it another two miles before collapsing again. Again, he got up and refused help. Only three more miles. He had to make it there tonight, had to finish the mission. _

_ Kisame was shocked that Itachi had managed to make it all the way to the entrance of the hideout. Looking back even Itachi hadn't known how he made it. The only really clear memory he had was of seeing Zetsu waiting for them outside the entrance. Vaguely he heard Kisame remark he didn't look too good. Then he passed out._

**1**

The first thing he heard was humming. Someone, a man judging from the chakara and low tone of the humming, was sitting at his bedside. And Itachi felt like shit. His entire body ached. Throbbing painfully, even with the healing potion he could still taste. They must have forced it down his throat while he was unconscious.

Itachi tried to open his eyes but found that someone had wrapped bandages over them. As he reached up to pull them off the pain attacked again. He gasped sharply, losing all sense of where he was. He curled over onto his side, feeling the pain shoving him towards unconsciousness again. Though even as he fought it he felt someone's chakara soothing his. A man's chakara. The one who had been humming only moments before.

The pain slowly crept back, inch by inch. As it did he gradually became aware that the man was petting his hair. And then he finally recognized the chakara signature: Uchiha Madara.

"Itachi, don't cry blood. You'll ruin your bandages." Madara's voice mocked from somewhere above him. But the tone of his voice didn't match the gentleness of his fingers or how his chakara had soothed Itachi's pain. What mind game was the real leader, Itachi's sensei, playing with him now? And what was wrong with him anyway?

"Your chakara backfired on itself and clogged your main ki points, because of the overuse of your Sharingan. It should have hurt the most in your chest since most of your chakara was trapped there.

"The chakara was looking for any way of escape: screams, tears, even through the pores of your flesh. Not a very pleasant experience. As it is now you shouldn't try to even use your eyes for a week. You really need to take your brother's eyes for your own soon, or I won't be able to prevent you from going blind and becoming useless." Madara explained softly, continuing to run his fingers through Itachi's hair.

"How did you stop it just now then?"

"I used my chakara to unclog your ki points. But it's only a temporary cure; it won't work forever."

Madara sat on the bed, lightly stroking his face, which he thought odd. But, of course, he wouldn't admit it.

"I had Pein reassign Kisame to solo missions, and gave him the information needed to run things for a while so I can stay with you. After all, things might get _interesting_, my pet."

_ Pet?_ Itachi was surprised; Madara had never called him that before. Why start now?

"Pet?"

"You'll always be my pet, 'Tachi." He could practically hear the smirk in the other man's voice as he left, calling behind him, "Be sure to sleep now."

Was it possible Madara liked him? He couldn't think of any other reason for his behavior, unless it really was some screwed up game. But Madara wasn't known to play with people's hearts, only their minds. Itachi knew only one thing: he didn't want to be alone with his sensei in the condition he was in; Madara was really very unpredictable at times.

XX

_Please review! Critiques are welcome, but not flames. _


	2. Chapter 2

2

_Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update; I was on vacation. But from now on I'll be posting at least one chapter per week until the end of the story. I promise you it's far from a one-shot! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter too. _

**2**

Itachi hadn't anticipated how difficult it would be to be blind for a week. It was only the second day but already his body, although still healing, was screaming at him to get up and do _something_. Sighing softly, he simply rolled over, tucking one bent arm beneath his head for a pillow. He listened to the sounds filtering in from an open window, which sounded pretty close to the bed he was lying on.

Water ran over rocks, then sounded like it gushed into a small pool; birds chirped merrily; frogs croaked now and then. Itachi had never known Madara to choose such a relaxing hideout. Was it part of some plot of his to relax Itachi so that he could manipulate him easier, or was it just that, deep down, the man liked the soothing atmosphere?

The door clicked open, bringing Itachi's musings to a close and announcing the arrival of Madara. They seemed to be the only two in the place, unless the other inhabitants were out somewhere on business. Itachi didn't bother to turn toward his sensei or acknowledge him in anyway; Madara would know he was listening from his body language.

"You should have seen the look on Kisame's face when you fainted. I was watching, waiting for you to return." He reached out, slowly running his fingers through Itachi's hair as he settled himself on the bed.

Itachi sat up, intending to get up and walk away from Madara, who was disturbing his peace. Didn't he know it was weird for him to wait for him to come back from a mission like that, to have Zetsu wait for them too? But Itachi never made it off of the bed.

Madara had suddenly pulled Itachi close to him. Caught off guard by the sudden yank Itachi ended up half in his lap, half sprawled on the bed. Madara chuckled as he tried blindly to free himself. He grabbed both of Itachi's wrists in one hand, pinning them together and ending the struggle; Itachi saw no reason to continue struggling when he knew he wouldn't get loose.

Running water filled the sudden silence in the room. Itachi didn't particularly feel like speaking to his sensei, and Madara appeared to be lost in thought. He listened to the flow of water over obstacles in its way, easily pushing past or moving around them.

Itachi didn't protest when Madara shifted, pulling him the rest of the way onto his lap. He thought the action was out of place but Madara had been acting odd lately. He would have considered the possibility of someone trying to impersonate the man, but that couldn't be. He knew Madara's chakara signature too well to be fooled by such an elementary trick.

Not particularly liking his place in Madara's lap, he waited until Madara was sufficiently distracted by whispering into his ear.

"Itachi, don't you kn-" The rest of his sentence was interrupted by a sharp snap; Itachi had managed to free one hand through a sudden yank and had taken the opportunity to break two of Madara's fingers. He followed through with an elbow to his sensei's ribs, Madara too surprised to avoid the painful blow.

Itachi heard the air whoosh out of the man's lungs and wasted no time in getting up. As he went he pulled off the bandages, which he felt he no longer needed. Squinting, he made his way towards the door.

And turned just in time to avoid doing a face plant as an aggravated Madara tackled him. But, instead of the expected blows and snarls, Madara did something odd. Something _interesting_. He leaned down and captured Itachi's lips in a brutal, searing kiss, once more surprising the younger Uchiha.

And that second of surprise was all it took to successfully pin him to the floor. Madara smirked cruelly as Itachi glared up at him, leaning down to whisper in his ear, "Is that anyway to treat your sensei after I helped you? I think I might have to punish you…"

"Wha-" Madara cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips to silence him, continuing to pin his wrists above his head with his other hand.

"And now is when the fun starts." He'd leaned down again to whisper in his ear, and now he let his tongue flick out to lick sensually at the shell of Itachi's ear. Itachi stifled his gasp of surprise at the sudden attempt at intimacy. _Why_ was he acting like this? He wasn't at all like the cold, badly-tempered man he'd left at the hideout at the beginning of all this.

But his thoughts were soon occupied with other things. Such as turning his head away when Madara tried to kiss him. However, this only seemed to amuse him.

"Why so shy, 'tachi?" He practically purred into Itachi's ear, holding his chin still with his strong grip as he took Itachi's lips in another searing kiss…

XX

_Thanks for reading, please review and keep checking for updates!!_


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for reviewing

_Thanks for reviewing! The next chapter will be out by Friday there's gonna be some bondage among other interesting things. . & the next chapter will probably also be longer. I don't know why but these chapters seem short to me, even though a lot happens in them. Enjoy!_

3

Itachi's shock quickly found it's way to annoyance, bordering on anger. Madara had probably been waiting for this opportunity if his earlier suspicions that the man liked him proved to be true. Itachi couldn't access his chakara. And without that he didn't see an easy way of the situation; Madara was stronger than him physically and he even had the use of his chakara to top it all off. So Madara's forceful kiss only encouraged his mood to keep right on going from annoyance straight to pissed. No one had ever dared try to take advantage of him like this.

Madara nibbled on Itachi's bottom lip, only pulling back to gaze into his eyes when Itachi refused to respond whatsoever. "Are you angry with me, pet?" He smirked, running a hand slowly down Itachi's chest and running it under his shirt. "Why don't you just relax and enjoy this?" He suggested quieter, his tone now stained with lust.

Itachi tried to look for weaknesses in Madara's grip so that he could break free again, but he was finding it extremely difficult to concentrate while Madara's deft fingers stroked his over-sensitive skin; he wasn't used to being touched.

"_Don't_ touch me." He growled threateningly, trying to pull his hands free to no avail. He began to twist this way and that, trying to buck his sensei off of him so that he could beat the shit of him. Fuck the normal I-don't-give-a-shit routine; he wanted him off.

But Madara only tightened the grip on his wrists, almost to the point of pain. Madara lightly ran his fingers over Itachi's skin, pulling back slightly so that he was barely touching him, making Itachi flush. Itachi was trying to stay angry and failing rather miserably. Why was this happening from just a touch? No, no he shouldn't be so distracted…

Losing his concentration on escaping for the moment he tried to press himself back into the floor, away from Madara's skilled fingers. He bit the inside of his cheek, willing Madara's caresses not to affect him. But he knew his face was flushed bright pink as he glared at his deceitful sensei. That was when Madara decided to brush his fingertips over Itachi's neglected nipple. Madara delighted in the way Itachi's eyes widened, his mouth opening to tell him off no doubt. He pinched it, twirling the hardening nub between his fingers and was rewarded by the sharp gasp Itachi couldn't hide.

Against his will Itachi arched his back, forgetting that he was pissed and leaning into his sensei's touch. Then Madara's hot mouth was on his, their tongues sliding over and around each other as they fought for dominance. Madara let go of his wrists and tangled that hand in Itachi's hair, yanking his head harshly back to gain better access to Itachi's mouth.

Between Madara's tongue now lapping gently against his and his skillful fingers Itachi almost didn't seize the opportunity given to him; he _almost_ forgot about everything but the way Madara was making him feel. Ignoring the fluttering, dropping feeling in his stomach, the slight dizziness, the way he felt flushed and hot and exposed, he broke their kiss. Panting slightly he roughly slammed his hands into Madara's chest, trying to roll the larger man off of him. But, Madara being Madara, expected it and simply pinned his wrists above his head once more. That was when Itachi started to feel really uncomfortable, almost scared; he had _no control_. What was his sensei going to do to him, or, rather, how far was he going to try and go?

Madara gently grabbed Itachi's chin, once more making him look at him. He leaned so close that their breath mingled, staring calmly into Itachi's dark eyes. "'Tachi." He half-whispered, instantly capturing Itachi's attention. "'Tachi, I'm not going to hurt you. I would never do that."

Right then, looking up into Madara's steady gaze, Itachi had never felt so vulnerable.

XX

_Please review & check for updates!!_


	4. Chapter 4

4

_Hey everyone! I'm sorry this wasn't out by Friday like I said it would be. I was passed out from work between shifts and it actually took a lot longer to edit this than I originally thought. But I hope the length of this makes up for the delay. _

4

"But," Madara continued, a sadistic smirk sliding onto his face. "I _do _have to punish you for this." He held up his left hand, showing Itachi his broken fingers, which where steadily swelling and turning a purplish color.

Before Itachi could respond, Madara picked him up and threw him onto the bed. Itachi hit the bed and rolled gracefully, coming up on the other side on his feet. He spun back to face Madara, only the bed between them. But Madara didn't seem to be in a hurry. On the contrary he was taking his time, which was putting Itachi on edge.

He pulled his black shirt off in one motion, exposing his toned chest and abs. His muscles rippled as he stalked slowly closer to his side of the bed, reminding Itachi of a predator hunting it's prey.

"Get on the bed, pet." He demanded in a rough voice, full of authority and dripping with lust.

Itachi glared at him; did he really think Itachi would just lie there and…let him? He was going to find a way out of this. He just didn't know how yet.

But again, Madara was full of surprises. He reached out as though he were reaching for Itachi and chakara strings flew from his fingertips, attaching themselves around Itachi's neck like a collar. Madara then used the strings to yank him forward onto the bed. Itachi was still in the middle of choking, struggling to draw air as the strings relentlessly squeezed his larynx when Madara jumped him.

He straddled Itachi's waist, then proceeded to handcuff him to the bed with manacles he pulled from one of his pockets. He released the chakara strings and Itachi gasped for air, feeling stupid that he hadn't known that Madara could manipulate his chakara like a puppeteer. How many times was he going to underestimate him? Or was it already too late and Madara had won the game? No, no it wasn't over yet…

Madara slapped him hard across the face, making his eyes water. "When I tell you to do something, you do it." He hissed into his ear, leaning most of his weight onto him. It figured Madara would be into kinky shit; he always had been weird. And it made it that much more difficult to escape. Itachi yanked on the manacles but they didn't give an inch. Madara slapped him again, two times. He tasted metallic copper, blood.

Madara grabbed his chin firmly and made him look at him, staring into his dark eyes with his red Sharingan. "Are you going to listen now, pet?" He asked quietly. And somehow, him being quiet was far more creepy and threatening than getting beaten or screamed at.

He pulled a blindfold from another pocket and wrapped it securely around Itachi's head when he failed to answer. Itachi felt cold in the pit of his stomach and it spread rapidly to his hands and feet. It took him a few moments to realize that he was really afraid. How long had it been since he'd last felt like this? But, more importantly, he could no longer see a way out of the situation. The only option left was talking but Itachi already knew what Madara wanted…

He felt Madara's weight leave the bed. Was he going to be lucky enough that he would just leave? But no, seconds later he felt Madara cutting his shirt off with a kunai, then stripping him of the rest of his clothes. He wanted to squirm, to scream at him, to _get out_. This had never happened to him before, someone doing something to him against his will, and he felt horribly uncomfortable. But he wouldn't let onto it. If Madara knew how much it bothered him he'd only take more pleasure in it.

Madara flipped him over and Itachi didn't protest. He lay there face down, heart beating fast with fear no matter what else he tried to think of instead to calm down.

"Tell me you want me, pet." Madara ordered in a low, breathy voice.

"Fuck you." Itachi hissed back, letting anger devour the fear. And immediately wished he hadn't when something hard and most likely leather was brought down across his ass. He jumped, once again annoyed that Madara had managed to make him react. He bit his lip as Madara continued to spank him with the object, each time hitting a different part of his ass. What was he hitting him with anyway, a whip? Whatever it was it hurt like hell.

Madara gently ran his hand over his ass, soothing the stinging marks. "Be good for me now, pet." He purred.

But Itachi lost it when he circled his entrance with a finger teasingly. He started to struggle, cursing viciously at Madara, who only laughed and struck him again with the whip. Itachi whimpered, then bit his lip hard. He hated to appear weak.

He felt the bed dip slightly as Madara crawled back onto it and started to rub his back soothingly. His muscles relaxed against his will under Madara's gentle, skilled hands. But the whole time he was screaming at himself in his head. He had to get out, not give up because Madara was hurting him a little, or giving him a massage.

"I want to see you lose that almost perfect control, pet. I want to see you sweating and withering, _begging _for more beneath me." He murmured, making Itachi start to struggle again. But Madara only held him down, kissing the back of his neck then sucking on the skin there hard enough to leave a mark. He ran his fingers lightly along the lines of the lean muscles on his sides, making Itachi squirm.

"Get on your hands and knees, pet." He ordered in that deep, breathy voice. But Itachi didn't want to. He didn't want to do this and, more than anything, he wanted to put up more of a fight than he was doing now. However, despite what he really wanted, he got to his hands and knees. As best as the manacles would allow anyway. Maybe if he cooperated for a while Madara wouldn't see how much this bothered him, or how much he was scaring him.

Madara poured something cool and slick over his ass, letting it drip down the cleft between his ass cheeks. He shivered, feeling goose bumps rise on his arms. Then Madara brushed his fingers softly along the length of Itachi's cock, causing him to shift his weight away. However, Madara was anything but shy.

"Stay." He ordered, grasping Itachi's cock and pumping his hand slowly, teasingly up and down his length.

"Nnh…" Itachi bit his lip hard, not wanting Madara to know just how badly he was affecting him. Though he had to know…

He slipped his hand back to lightly massage his balls; Itachi bit his lip harder, the taste of blood flooding his mouth again. And then he stopped. Itachi whimpered at the sudden loss, hating how he sounded like some whore begging for more without words.

Madara slowly circled his finger around Itachi's anus, generously smearing the lube over him. He smirked at how still Itachi had gotten, obviously dreading what he was going to do. Itachi was his pet though, to play with as he saw fit. And right now he wanted him begging. Without warning Madara suddenly pushed two fingers into Itachi, delighting in the way he clenched around him.

"Ah!" The sudden sensation hurt and he dropped to his elbows, trying to get away. But there was really nowhere to run to. "Ya-yamero sensei!" (Stop master!) He screamed, past the point of caring what anyone thought and just wanting him to stop.

Madara's smirk widened and he pumped his fingers in and out, entranced by the way Itachi was half shuddering, half shaking. He leaned down, trailing a line of soft, insistent kisses along Itachi's spine. He didn't fail to notice Itachi's breathing quicken, although he didn't know if it was from pleasure or fear. A mixture of both most likely.

He hooked his fingers, searching for that spot that would make Itachi see stars. He knew he had it when Itachi let out a little mewl of sound. It was one of the sexiest things he'd ever heard and he'd been with a lot of people.

"Ah! Ahh…" Itachi panted, squirming.

Madara scissored him, noticing how he spread his legs more for him. He smirked; the rest of this would b easy. Then he stopped, Itachi's sweet protests not far behind.

"Sensei…please, don't stop! Onegai!" (Please!)

Madara smeared lube along the handle of the whip he'd punished Itachi with earlier. "Do you want this, pet?"

"Oh yes…" He breathed, making Madara want to screw the 'punishment' and just take him right then.

Instead, he roughly shoved the handle up Itachi's ass, enjoying the way he arched his back, gasping. He didn't wait for Itachi to adjust; he just kept pulling the handle back then slamming it into him, relentlessly pounding his prostate.

Itachi was panting, squirming, grabbing fistfuls of sheets. "Nnh…oh shit! _Sensei!_ P-please, I c-can't…nnh…take anymore!" He was so hot…. He felt like he couldn't breathe, panting and gasping every breath. Then the whip handle was gone.

Itachi whimpered; he'd been so close. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

" Do you want my cock, pet?" Madara whispered seductively into his ear, grinding his erection into Itachi's backside. Itachi moaned, pushing back against him. But Madara pulled back, slapping Itachi's ass. "No, no, I want you to _beg_."

"_Please! _I-I need you inside… I w-want your rock hard cock… Fuck me sensei! I n-need you…"

"Mmh, how can I refuse when you beg so nicely?" He thrust himself into Itachi, making the younger man wither beneath him. He clawed his hands down Itachi's back as he continued roughly, drawing screams, moans, whimpers, pleas from his lips. He reached down, grabbing Itachi's throbbing erection and started to pump it in time with his thrusts. Itachi half whined, half moaned and Madara almost came right then.

Itachi screamed his release when he came, his tight muscles clenching around Madara's cock. Madara's breath caught in his throat; he felt like his dick was being sucked off, and it was the hottest feeling. He came not far behind, sinking his teeth into Itachi's shoulder as he spilled his hot seed inside of him.

He slumped forward, his long, spiky hair brushing Itachi's back as he panted. That was the best sex he'd had in a while. He was sure he was addicted to Itachi now more than ever.

When Madara had recovered enough that he felt he could stand, he un-handcuffed Itachi from the bed, ripping the blindfold free in the process and dragged him over to the wall. He handcuffed his hands above his head to a ring that been screwed tight into the wall. Itachi looked at him with wide eyes. All of his normal blank expression was lost in the look he was giving him now, as if he couldn't believe Madara had just fucked him. Or that he'd begged him to do it.

Madara let his gaze trail down Itachi's body, smirking at the sight of cum slowly trickling out of his entrance. He leaned close to Itachi, their breath mingling, and whispered, "Mou itai, pet." (One more time, pet) The look on Itachi's face was priceless.

XX

_I hope you liked it! Please review and check for updates!_


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to update

_Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to update! I had a busy week at work, which is where I write most of the chapters. But I promise it won't happen again, since I actually have days off now. Lol. Anyway, I really hope this chapter was worth the wait. _

5

Madara leaned in for a kiss and Itachi raised his knee, trying to push him away, although it seemed a little late for that. Madara smirked, pushing his leg and leaning close, his lips just brushing his ear as he spoke. "What's got you so spooked all f a sudden, pet?"

"Iie, sensei." (No, master)

Madara grabbed his chin and kisses him anyway, ignoring his protests. Itachi had to learn that he had no choice; it was what all pets rejected at first. But he'd learn soon enough.

That was when Itachi bit him, his teeth sinking easily through Madara's lip. Madara gasped, eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and pain. Blood flowed from his mouth, down his chin, to drip steadily onto his bare chest. After what felt like minutes but was probably only seconds, he managed to pull free, feeling his skin tear more as he pulled away.

"Ah!" He grunted in pain, bringing a hand up to his mouth to try and staunch the flow of blood. "You little bitch." He snarled, hot anger throbbing in his voice. He backhanded him hard, snapping Itachi's head to the side. Then he hit him again, this time on the other side of his face, snapping his head back the other direction.

"Don't you _ever_ try anything like that with me again." He snarled, watching blood bubble slowly out of the corner of Itachi's mouth as he breathed. "Do you understand, pet?" He hissed, anger washing over Itachi in waves, making him wonder if he'd pushed too far.

When he didn't answer Madara slapped him again, hard enough to make the room tilt and his head reel. "Hai…" (Yes…) He answered quietly, blood dripping down his chin. For some reason he was scared again. The look on Madara's face, in his eyes, said he meant business.

Madara took a deep breath, trying to let some of his anger go. "Tell me what you want me to do to you, pet." He half whispered, licking the blood from his lips.

"…I want you to make me scream…I want you inside me, sensei. Please! Gomenasai." (I'm sorry) He risked a glance at Madara's face, then returned to staring at his chest. "I-I want to see what you taste like, to feel you lose yourself inside me again."

Madara kissed him hard, brutally and he kissed him back, nipping and sucking. Blood soaked both their lips, neither of them sure whose it was. It dribbled down their chins and cheeks and onto their chests, making them sticky.

Madara tangles his fingers in his hair, yanking his head to the side so that he could have better access to his mouth. His tongue flicked out to lap at the blood smeared across Itachi's lips. He pressed his body flush against Itachi's, feeling the younger man stiffen slightly.

Madara trailed his fingers down Itachi's chest and stomach, enjoying the feel of his soft, silky flesh. "Mmh, I can't wait to be inside you, pet." He pulled back to look at him, smirking. "But first it seems I have to punish you again for refusing me."

He grabbed the blindfold from the floor and tied it securely around the base of Itachi's cock, tight enough to act as a cock ring. The sight of Itachi breathing through swollen, slightly bruised lips, trying not to squirm from the awkward position and the added discomfort of the blindfold was a huge turn-on. He groaned quietly, trying not to glare at Madara.

"You don't like this idea, pet?" Madara purred, stroking his cheek.

"No."

Madara smirked, placing butterfly down his neck and long his collarbone, liking the way he tilted his head to the side, giving him better access. He slid down Itachi's body more, loving the way Itachi's breath hitched at the friction between their members. He licked around his hardening nipple, sucking on the hard mound of flesh until he drew moan after sweet moan from Itachi's lips. He bit around the nipple, making Itachi arch into him.

Itachi moaned loudly, breath gasping in his throat. "Sensei!" The pain mixed with pleasure caused his cock to twitch, hardening even more. Who would have thought he'd be a masochist? And such a sick one at that.

"Please, m-more!" He whined, sounding like a whore in heat.

Madara slid gracefully to his knees, kissing his hipbones, thighs, everywhere except his obvious erection. It drove Itachi mad with lust. He felt like he would burst at any moment; he needed to cum.

A whimper tore itself from his throat and he knew he didn't care anymore about appearances or his reputation. He just really, really needed Madara to fuck him right now. So, for better or worse, he gave into the lust.

Madara gripped the base of his shaft firmly, licking his head where copious amounts of precum had gathered. He loved the way Itachi tasted, so much salt and underlying sweetness. He took him partially into his mouth, sucking eagerly.

"A-ah! Oh shit…" Itachi panted.

Madara continued his ministrations, bobbing his head up and down his shaft, sucking hard. Itachi was finally losing it under his touch. Maybe he really could get what he wanted out of this little tryst.

"Mmh… Hah, ah…" Itachi was breathing heavily, eyes glazed over with lust. He loved the way Madara was touching him, the things he was doing to him.

Madara moved back to suck on Itachi's balls, massaging them thoroughly with his tongue. Itachi writhed against the wall, crying out, making Madara want to go further. He pulled his Itachi's leg over his shoulder, licking around his puckered entrance.

Itachi gasped, caught completely off guard. "M-Madara…" He stuttered, voice part uncertain, part lust filled.

That was all the encouragement needed. Madara slipped his tongue past that tight ring of muscle and proceeded to tongue fuck his one time student. That had Itachi screaming, begging for release.

"Oh yes…" He breathed. "Yes! Sensei…Sensei, l-let me cum! Nnh…Oh my god…M-Madara!" He cock ached so badly he thought he might pass out. And then Madara pulled back, sliding out from his slightly awkward position to grind his erection into Itachi's as he nibbled sensually on his earlobe.

"MADARA!" Itachi screamed, loud enough that he was sure if anyone else was in the building they'd have heard it.

Madara had pulled Itachi's legs up around his waist and plunged into him without warning. Itachi yanked hard on the handcuffs, hating to be tied down. He wasn't going to run; he just wanted to feel skin under his hands.

"Are…you gonna be good, pet?" Madara gasped out.

"Hai."

He smirked, reaching up and snapping one of the handcuffs so Itachi's hands were free. He immediately wrapped them around Madara's neck, leaning his head down onto his shoulder as he panted for breath.

Madara continued to thrust into him, delighted that Itachi seemed more than happy to participate this time. Itachi pushed back, down onto his sensei's cock, loving the friction caused by skin on skin as his throbbing erection rubbed against their stomachs. He ached so badly that he began to whimper, his moans punctuated, interrupted, by the foreign sound.

And then Madara untied the blindfold. Itachi came hard, his cum splattering over their chests, dripping onto their stomachs. Madara came at the same time, emptying his hot seed into Itachi for the second time that night.

Both men took a few minutes to recover, panting and gasping as they tried to regain composure. When they did Madara finally pulled out of Itachi, picking him up bridal style before he could manage to worm away. He kissed him softly.

And Itachi felt the sting of a needle. As he fell down, down into unconsciousness he heard his ex-sensei murmur to him, "You're all I ever wanted."

Before he passed out he vaguely felt Madara settle him onto the bed, felt him tuck him in. all it reminded him of was a prison. One partially obscured by a veil of lust, and drugs to keep him from fleeing.

He didn't want to stay here. But If that was really true then why did he feel so…safe?

XX

_In case you can't tell by now I have this weird fetish with blood. So if that grosses you out, don't say I didn't warn you. Anyway, please review and check for updates! I've already got a good start on the next chapter so hopefully it'll be don't by Sunday, if not before. _


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to Snowyangel13, Pigfish, Yumemi, Cake-chan, and Susana for reviewing

_Thanks to Snowyangel13, Pigfish, Yumemi, Cake-chan, and Susana for reviewing. You guys rock._

6

Itachi felt himself fading in and out of consciousness, partially awakening and then simply surrendering to sleep once more. His limbs felt so heavy, eyelids practically glued shut. And the bed was so warm, so comfortable. Why had he wanted to get up so badly before? He was safe here…

Slowly, as time trickled by, he became more aware of where he was. He sat up, the covers falling down to reveal his naked upper torso, covered in dried semen and blood, an angry set of teeth marks colored purple and yellow around his nipple; everything from last night came rushing back. He flushed, angry at himself for giving into Madara once again.

Itachi threw the covers from the bed, dressing slowly since whatever drug Madara had given him was making him dizzy and a little disorientated. Madara was such an asshole. And he'd been so naïve to trust the kind of man Madara was, even for a moment.

Itachi knew that he couldn't stay there any longer. If he did Madara would just continue to take advantage of him, and he really didn't want that. Although, if what Madara had said about his chakara was true then he was pretty much screwed, because he would never even consider taking his otouto's eyes.

But he wasn't going to worry about that now. One thing at a time or he would never get out. And right now the window seemed like his best bet. If he went through the door who knew how long he'd have to wander around before he found the exit? And he'd have a higher likelihood of bumping into Madara that way.

So once he was dressed he opened the window, which set off an alarm. The window had evidently been guarded with some sort of invisible seal, which had activated when he opened it. Itachi bet that Madara's chakara would disable the alarm, whereas his had set it off. Shit.

He set off at a run, flashing through the once peaceful pond and into the forest much faster than he should have been going, given his unstable condition. The tree branches beneath his feet were the only things that seemed solid, real in the swirl of colors as everything flashed by.

Of course, that was when a shuriken embedded itself in a tree trunk, close to where his head had been moments before. He stopped, glaring down at his little brother, Sasuke. The kid couldn't have picked worse timing. What was he doing out there anyway?

"I'm here to kill you, Itachi." Sasuke hissed, trying to intimidate his elder brother.

Itachi had to resist sighing. The kid was so repetitive; it aggravated him to no end because Sasuke was smarter than that. He just seemed to be blinded by his need for 'vengeance', which was a huge liability for him.

"Foolish otouto, you would try to kill me again after failing the first two times? Give up; you're too weak and you'll always be that way. You're nothing otouto." He hissed, his situation causing annoyance to seep into his tone and body language. He just wanted to be alone. To get away before Madara caught up.

Sasuke flushed, pulling out more shuriken and kunai to make up for it. "I'm not listening to you! You…you killed them all, Itachi. You're a monster and it's my job to kill you!" Normally the boy was stoic, composed, more so than ever since he'd run off to Orochimaru. But it looked like Itachi had gotten under his skin.

"Hn." Itachi grunted noncommittally, wondering how to get out of this situation before Madara, or anyone else, showed up and made it worse. If he was even chasing him. Then he remembered Madara's earlier words, _"You really need to take your brother's eyes soon. Otherwise you'll be useless to me."_

But he batted the thought away. Sasuke was certainly annoying but he'd kept him alive for a reason. Out of everyone he'd spared only his little brother.

"Just leave, otouto."

But Sasuke wasn't about to give up that easily. He threw the shuriken and kunai away from himself in a spry attack, springing toward Itachi as he used the weapons for cover.

As Itachi darted away Sasuke reached out and a snake flew from his sleeve, arching toward the elder brother, fangs bared. But Itachi simply pinned it to a tree with a kunai, appeared behind his otouto and flung him unceremoniously into the bushes. He'd been lucky so far that Sasuke's arrogance was blinding him; unless he went after the boy like he wanted to do serious damage Sasuke seemed like he'd be able to keep up. And that was when Itachi felt Madara's chakara signature speeding towards them. Oh shit. Today already felt like one of days better off spent lazing around the house, not escaping a slightly insane ex-sensei and dealing with an overzealous, naïve little brother.

"Train hard otouto and maybe, one day, you'll finally be able to kill me." He leapt up onto the nearest branch, racing away at top speed.

Sasuke's half indignant, half disbelieving voice trailed after him. "You're running away?!"

But he had no time for childish antics. Of course that would be the moment when his chakara spiked, twisting inward on itself like a wounded animal. Just when sweet escape had been so deliciously close pain had exploded behind his eyes like bright, white lights, temporarily blinding him. The branch he was in the middle of landing on tilted at a funny angle and he was suddenly no longer standing on anything solid.

He fell through the thick branches, trying and failing to slow his wild plummet back to earth. He hit quite a few branches on the way down, making him not want to run on them anytime in the near future. And then the ground rushed up to meet him with such force that he was amazed he didn't lose consciousness or break his neck.

He thought he had to be in shock; there was no pain, although breathing did seem to be harder than usual. Itachi just lay there, not bothering to even try and get up. He felt he'd been drained of all his energy and was pissed over it. Here he was, helpless as a child for one too many times in a row that week. _Fuck! _What had he ever done to deserve such bad karma?

"Tsk, tsk, pet." Madara murmured, crunching his way out of the brush and over to his fallen soldier. "It seems you've had another accident." His tone was mocking but Itachi, as injured as he was, had caught the flash of concern flick across his features before he covered it with contempt. He didn't think he could speak if he tried just yet so he remained silent, not even bothering to glare at his tormentor.

"You could have taken Sasuke's eyes. You had the chance and you passed it by like some nervous, green genin." Disapproval filled his deep voice, as if his favorite student had just failed his final exam. "I had expected more of you."

Itachi spit out a mouthful of blood, finally struggling to rise. "Get away." He rasped, the slow, beginning aches of pain starting to settle into his abused body.

Madara's response was a swift kick to the ribs that had Itachi gasping and withering on the ground. Right now he loathed Madara more than anyone he'd ever met. Including his late, controlling father, Fugaku.

The father of the Uchiha clan smirked. "No tears yet?" He grabbed Itachi's cloak and roughly flipped him over far before he felt like moving again, pinning the younger man's wrists to the earth floor hard enough to bruise. "I'll just have to change that, now won't I?"

Everything was tilting wildly, too much noise and color. Too many purple and white spots over everything. Not with Madara like this… He tightened his grip on Itachi's wrists, trying to keep him awake through pain. Itachi whimpered, hating himself as the sound pushed past his lips.

"You're so weak." Madara snarled, disgusted. "You really are worthless to me." He backhanded him hard, and Itachi finally slipped into oblivion. He missed the mix of emotions that crossed Madara's face in rapid succession: surprise, guilt, anger. What game was Madara really playing with him and what did the man truly want to come out of it? But, whatever game they were playing, Itachi was sure he was going to win in the end.

XX

_Sorry no hot sex in this chapter! I need to move the plot along a little first, but there will definitely be more sex to come. And Madara was being an ass in this chapter for a reason. Please review and check for updates!!_


	7. Chapter 7

7

_Aah, it's been a while! I actually had this whole thing edited & ready to go last week, but then I decided I didn't like the first part of the chapter & rewrote the entire thing. So sorry for the delay but I promise it's much better than the ripped up version in the trash. So sorry about that. I'm actually really annoyed it took me this long this long to update. Anyways thanks to Anos, Yumemi, Pigfish, Naiya246, Susana, Ani, Lovelymystery, & att for reviewing. Your comments make me want more faster. _

_Anos I will write a Madara/Sasuke story for you when I'm done with this one. do you want it to be in their time or in ours? _

_Ani you're like my best bud. I have a horrible habit of having sad endings and killing off people. Of course every now & then I do write a happy ending._

_WARNING: this chapter is quiet violent. If you don't like it, well I warned you. The next chapter will explain why Madara's been acting an ass. & it'll be the turning point for the story. & yes, there will be lots more sex. Lol. _

7

Itachi woke with a gasp, sitting up suddenly and immediately wished he hadn't. Hissing as pain wracked his body, he lay back down. And as his vision slowly came back into focus he realized he wasn't alone. Two voices were having a very loud, angry discussion. Sasuke and Madara's voices.

"Get out of my way! Damn Akatsuki, this is _none _of your business!!" Sasuke yelled, obviously having lost his temper a while ago. He must have caught up to them while Itachi was still out. Shit. What was he going to do now that his otouto seemed to be set on getting himself caught up in his and Madara's little feud?

Madara laughed, steering his attention back to the two fuming Uchiha's in front of him. " Go home, little boy. You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

Itachi had managed to get to his feet by this point, although he was leaning against the tree closest to him and his body felt bruised, abused all over. The side where Madara had kicked him throbbed worryingly but he pushed it to the back of his mind; he had a job to do now, whether he was physically fit or not.

Gathering his strength, he walked around Madara to face Sasuke as though nothing was wrong. He let his eyes bleed into the Sharingan, watching Sasuke's do the same. He hoped his eyes wouldn't fail him now.

"If it's a fight you want otouto, then I'll give it to you."

He snorted. "You're so injured you're lucky you're standing. And yet you still think I won't kill you today?!"

Itachi merely looked at him. "Did you come to kill me or talk?"

Without bothering to reply Sasuke lunged forward, chidori chirping and flickering in his hand. He flung the lightning toward Itachi's heart, the tomoes in his Sharingan revolving fast from the adrenaline and excitement, that maybe today he'd finally be able to kill his nii-san.

But, just like all those years ago, Sasuke was too slow. Itachi grabbed his wrist, effectively killing the chidori as he once again snapped his little brother's wrist. From there he swept Sasuke's legs out from under him, ignoring the grunt of pain and small surprised sound from Sasuke.

Sasuke bucked as soon as his back hit the ground, trying to avoid being pinned and trying to wrench his injured arm free. Against his will he let out a startled yelp when Itachi twisted his tender, newly broken wrist. It gave him the second he needed to drop his knee onto Sasuke's stomach, pressing his knee into his kidney, which made Sasuke squirm uncomfortably.

"Once more, foolish otouto, you didn't want to kill me badly enough. And you will never gain the power you seek from Orochimaru."

Sasuke opened his mouth, probably to deliver some scathing remark, but he never got the chance. Itachi had pressed a nerve in his neck and he blacked out.

Madara, who had watched the entire exchange quietly from the sidelines, now stepped closer. "Luck must be on your side today, pet. Take his eyes and we'll be on our way." He said it nonchalantly, as if he were remarking on the weather. Not as if he were talking about ripping Sasuke's eyes out, or acting as though he'd just chased Itachi for miles. And Itachi had thought he was messed up enough to call himself sociopath. Nice to know there was always someone worse.

"Iie." (No.) He said flatly, glaring at his one-time master.

Madara smirked, stalking closer. "Getting cold feet?"

"You of all people know that isn't true."

"So you do care for him then? You killed them like animals, slaughtered them like they were just so much meat, yet you can't kill one more? Not this boy?" He grabbed the front of Itachi's shirt and pulled him close, so close that his breath fell warm against his student's lips as he spoke. "I know the real reason you killed them." His lips curved into a cruel smirk. "Why you ran from Konoha and still despise that village."

"Get out of my personal space." Itachi said quietly, in a voice that would make most people think twice.

But Madara wasn't fazed. "That's not what you said last night." He retorted.

Touché. Itachi fought to keep from blushing. "If rape is the only way you can get people into your bed then I don't have to say anymore."

The amusement went out of Madara's eyes; he'd touched a nerve. "Take his eyes now or I'll _rape _you so hard you won't be bale to walk for a week." He snarled, pressing his body in a line to Itachi's, letting him feel just how much he enjoyed that thought. Madara certainly was one sick puppy.

But fine, if he wanted to play dirty then so could Itachi. He drew back from Madara just enough to kick him in the shin, the satisfying crunch of bone reaching his ears as Madara's breath hissed in in a pain filled gasp. Itachi wrenched free of his hold, watching dispassionately as he crumpled to the ground with another ominous crack of bone. Right then Itachi didn't really care if he got hurt. He only wanted to kill Madara so that he could never hurt anyone ever again, especially Sasuke. He was tired of being manipulated, tired of taking orders from someone he didn't respect, tired of fighting for something he'd only ever pretended to believe in. So he was going to finish it today.

He pulled a kunai from his bag of weapons, watching Madara's eyes widen and fill with anger as he realized his intentions. "You wouldn't! If you do there will be no one to watch over your precious brother for you!" He snarled, snatching up his own kunai.

Itachi smiled, knowing it didn't reach his eyes. He didn't bother to respond as he formed hand seals, letting his eyes bleed into the mangekyo. He threw the kunai, which Madara didn't bother to dodge. He simply blocked with his forearm, the blade embedding itself in his flesh with a spurt of red. But what Madara couldn't do was dodge the jutsu he didn't realize Itachi knew.

"Kusari no jutsu!" (Justu of decay!)

The jutsu hit his leg, and instantly the flesh began to rot. Madara's eyes widened in horror; he'd never seen this type of attack before. He tried to heal it with his healing chakara, but that only seemed to make it worse. The skin turned a motley black and began to flake off, revealing discolored pus and muscle below.

"You little bastard!! K'so!" (Damn it!) Madara shrieked, completely losing his cool composure.

"How does it feel to not be in control, _sensei_?" Itachi mocked, stalking slowly around him. He wanted to make Madara suffer for thinking of hurting Sasuke. His fingers flew as he formed another seal. "Sokubaku no jutsu!" (Justu of restriction/ shackles!)

Madara's eyes glittered with hatred as he felt his limbs leap together and stick, as if he were chained by shackles. "You will pay for this, pet." He said quietly, each word practically dripping with hatred. "You would kill me for that worthless boy you call brother?!" He struggled, trying to break the jutsu. But it was as if he were really chained.

Just as Itachi moved forward, another kunai poised to slit Madara's throat, Sasuke cried out. "Nii-san!" The boy tossed and turned, obviously having a nightmare. And that was all the distraction the father of the Uchiha clan needed. Itachi had looked away for only a handful of seconds, distracted by his brother's cry. Madara fed a burst of chakara to his limbs, just barely managing to break Itachi's jutsu. Then he lunged forward, slamming his fingers into the same nerve Itachi had hit on Sasuke.

As Itachi fell into unconsciousness he only hoped that Sasuke would be left unharmed; he knew he would never be so lucky. Now it was only a question of how long Madara would torture him before he finally killed him.

XX

"Did you really think I would just let you go? After what you did to me?" Madara taunted him quietly. Itachi lay prone on the bed, his hands handcuffed to the headboard. He was naked, which didn't bode well. Especially since Madara was still pissed about his almost escape hours earlier. Was Madara really going to make good on his earlier promise?

His soft footsteps stopped at the end of the bed and Itachi decided to focus on breathing, wishing he'd killed Madara before. In. out. In… Something slithered across the floor and Madara snickered. Giving into temptation Itachi craned to see over his shoulder.

His sensei had one of those long, wicked looking horsewhips in his hand. Great. As if the riding crop hadn't been enough. Was this some weird fetish the man had? If only the history scrolls had covered what Madara was really about and not just what he'd done. He bit back inappropriate laughter as he imagined the reaction the whole truth would get.

But that laughter soon turned to a gasp of pain as the whip burned a hot line up his thigh. Fuck. If the first strike had hurt that badly…

Madara laughed; when the second strike connected he realized that the first had been playful, meant to lure him into a false sense of security. The whip lashed line of fire after line of fire up his back, ass, thighs. He screamed, trying to twist this way and that, anything to get away. He couldn't breathe…

"Stop it, stop! _Onegai_, sensei!!" (_Please_, master!!) He whimpered, biting on his lip until hot, salty blood flooded his mouth. He sobbed, gasping, dimly noticing that he felt hot liquid running in sticky lines down his sides and thighs. Blood. Madara had torn his flesh open.

Madara knelt on the bed above his sobbing, shaking student. But he was far from finished; he wanted to make sure Itachi would never forget this little lesson in obedience. He leaned down and bit a line of torn skin, tearing it further with his teeth. Itachi's back bowed beneath him, whimpering, small cries coming from the back of his throat.

"_MA-MASTER!!_" He screamed, voice ragged, beyond any coherent thought. He just wanted it to stop… But he knew it wouldn't. Not until Madara saw him dead.

Madara flipped him onto his back and Itachi screamed, a high, keening sound that didn't sound natural, when his butchered flesh came into contact with the sheets. And then Madara was inside him, thrusting hard so that his back was rubbing viciously against the once white sheets. He screamed, turned, struggled…

His blood painted the sheets a mix of reds and pinks, like someone's sick version of Valentines Day. And then Madara stopped, still buried to the hilt inside Itachi he gazed down at him, who was bleeding, crying in great ragged breaths. His eyes were wild with pain.

Madara stroked his face gently, trailing soft kisses after his fingers. Itachi didn't bother to turn away but Madara knew he didn't enjoy it either. He kissed Itachi's lips, now so red in his pale, pale face. He didn't respond, didn't kiss back. But anger simmered below the pain and fear, below the mistrust that he normally hid so well.

The chains on the handcuffs clinked when Itachi pulled half-heartedly at them. He whined softly, the movement obviously hurting his raw back. Then, to his surprise, Madara un-handcuffed him, looking unsure of why he'd done it and quite ready to hold him down should he try anything. But Itachi was done. Done with Madara, done with this game, done with it all. Some things came at too high a price and Itachi was ready to drop his bid and walk away.

He reached out a shaking hand, turning Madara's face so that his gaze met his. And he let Madara see all the pain and betrayal in his eyes. See the shattered trust and fear, panic that threatened to drown him. The pain trickled down his cheeks in cool drops, causing his cruel master's eyes to widen.

But before he could speak Itachi beat him to it. "What have you done now?" His voice was hoarse from all the screaming, almost unrecognizable.

That was when Madara realized he had never hated himself more. Ha hadn't broken Itachi; he had instead turned the younger man so completely against him that he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to win him back. He stared into Itachi's open eyes, still wild from pain, his hoarse words echoing in his head. _What have you done now?_

"I'm done, Madara; I quit."

XX

_Thanks everyone for being patient with me these last few weeks! I promise I won't take that long to update again. Please review and check for updates!! _


	8. Chapter 8

8

_Thank you LovelyMystery, AnoS, Ani, att, K, Venuss, Susana, Pigfish, and Yumemi for reviewing!! Your reviews really mean a lot to me and make me want to finish the next chapter that much faster. Lol, I know I like to end at cliffies. I think it just makes the anticipation so much better._

_Att I really did try to update before Saturday, but that just didn't happen. Plus, my computer decided it didn't like me a day and wouldn't let me sign in to update. Lol. But maybe next time._

_Susana thanks for the comment about there being almost no mistakes in the grammar. I try to edit the chapters four times before I post and I'm really big on stories with good grammar, because they're hard to read otherwise. _

_Yumemi I totally agree with you about the consensual sex! Even though it seems like we're moving farther away from it at the moment…_

_K thanks for pointing that out about the withering. I depend on spell check and so I think it must have changed it, because I don't think it would be very fun to wither either. _

_Man, that's a long thank you list. _

8

Sasuke woke up in the forest, alone. Pain throbbed along his wrist, reminding him that yet again he'd failed at the one thing that mattered to him in life. Guilt pressed down on him. How could he continue to let his clan's murder go unanswered for? How come he couldn't bring to really, truly despise his brother?

But he kept remembering hoe Itachi had been the only one to really see him for himself. His father had ignored him in favor of his more accomplished nii-san, his mother had done the best she could but then she'd always been busy with other things. But Itachi… He missed his nii-san so bad it was an ache in his empty chest. Because, no matter how much Itachi hurt him, he'd always remember the old Itachi. And he'd always love him.

But Sasuke wasn't stupid either. Itachi could kill him at any time, yet he never did. Why? Was the man really so cold-blooded as to play this kind of cat and mouse game? Or was it because, underneath it all, he still cared for him?

"Baka." (Idiot.) Sasuke muttered, clutching his injured wrist to his chest. "He doesn't care."

But something was floating at the back of his mind… _So you do care for him then?_ Madara's words came back in a rush to haunt him. He'd been semiconscious at the time but he was pretty sure he'd overheard Madara and Itachi arguing about him. And Itachi had refused to hurt him.

"No! Stop it, stop it…" He clutched at his head, burying his fingers in his hair. "You're an avenger! Stop thinking you could have a happy ending."

But even to his own ears his words rang empty and hollow, full of second-guessing and confusion. _K'so!_ (Damn!) He'd never been so confused and yet so hopeful at the same time. He desperately wanted his nii-san back, even though he was the very man Sasuke had given up nearly everything for to kill.

XX

Madara kissed Itachi, trying to convey just how badly he felt as his lips brushed gently over Itachi's. The next thing he knew he was on the floor. Of course he hadn't really thought it'd be that easy, but it would have been nice.

_Shit!_ Why couldn't he have just been honest with Itachi from the beginning? Now he'd never believe him. Was it even worth trying to explain at this point? Itachi had just made it perfectly clear that he'd quit… His stomach clenched at the thought of it.

Itachi got up only to collapse to the floor with a loud whimper of pain. His back was bleeding again. Fuck it. He'd crawl over hot coals to leave at this point.

His side was throbbing in sharp pains that had him breathing through clenched teeth. Every breath hurt; were his ribs broken?

"Itachi…" Madara called, watching his student struggle to stand. "Please, gofunkan." (Please, five minutes.)

Itachi lurched to his feet again. "Iie." (No.) He said coldly.

"Please 'tachi…" Madara could plainly hear the desperation in his own voice.

"Dooshite?" (Why?) He asked, looking at him as if he were something grotesque.

"So I can explain myself." That look he was giving him cut him deep. He'd never wanted Itachi to look at him like that but he couldn't say he didn't deserve it after what he'd done.

There was the longest pause where they simply stared at one another, one hoping, one trying to remain upright. "You have five minutes." Itachi said finally, leaning his shoulder against the wall for support and wincing as even that small movement hurt.

"I never meant to hurt you…" Madara trailed off, anticipating that Itachi would interrupt him with some sarcastic remark. But no, he was just standing there, watching him. Listening. Just like he'd said he would, but only for five minutes.

Where had all his arrogant confidence gone when he needed it most? Why did he feel like some stupid genin trying to do some difficult jutsu just to impress someone, but knowing all along that he probably wouldn't be able to? He was the father of the Uchiha clan. He'd fought the first. This should be no problem.

"I called you pet and raped you because I thought if I degraded you enough, if you saw me as your master in every sense of the word, then you would never leave me. You're a part of Akatsuki, but all that's held together by is threat of death. There was a possibility you'd leave, especially since I know you hate Akatsuki, so I thought if I made you mine you'd stay. It just so happened that I had an opportunity when you got sick."

"If anything you've made me want to leave the most because of what of what you've done. People done belong to anyone; you can't own or keep them. And why did you want me to stay so badly anyway? Just because I'm _useful_?" Itachi's face and eyes held no emotion but there was an inflection on the word 'useful'. It made Madara wonder but now was not the time to pursue it.

"Because," He found his mouth had suddenly gone dry. "Aishiteru kara. (Because I love you.) I was just to afraid to tell you…"

Itachi looked at him for a long moment with his dark eyes that told him nothing of what the younger man was feeling. "I don't believe you." Madara felt as though his intestines were being eaten up by fire as despair overwhelmed him.

He turned to leave and Madara tried to keep from panicking. This was exactly what he hadn't wanted to happen! "Itachi!"

"If you really loved me then you wouldn't have done what you did. You only wanted to control me, to use me. You're no different than my father or Konoha." Madara opened his mouth to protest but Itachi cut him off. "No, Madara. You don't love me; if you did you never would have hurt me or threatened Sasuke." Itachi turned, snatching up his clothes as he left.

And when he was gone Madara put his fist through the wall, bellowing in rage and sorrow. "Iie, iie!!" (No, no!!) He yelled. He couldn't believe he'd been stupid enough to screw it up. Yes, he'd been an asshole. But for Itachi not to believe him at all… It hurt. It hurt even though he deserved so much worse.

"_Sumimasen, Madara-sensei?" (Excuse me, Madara?) A young Itachi's voice rang in his head. A distant memory of Itachi asking him to teach him something or to spar with him. _

_Back then the mistrust hadn't shadowed his eyes. That was before Madara had been stupid enough to risk the affection he felt for the boy. Long before he'd realized just what it was he felt for Itachi. If he had realized sooner would he still have damaged their relationship irreparably? _

"I hate myself." He whispered, leaning his forehead against the wall. And that's when he noticed Itachi's blood was still on his hands.

It was only then he started to cry.

XX

Itachi limped through the forest, his shirt rubbing painfully against his ruined back. He knew this was the end, but as long as he got to see Sasuke and explain to him why everyone had to die first he didn't care. He'd quit Akatsuki, which was as good as signing his death warrant. To top it all off he was in no state to fight. Even if he survived it probably wouldn't be long before he went blind. Karma just seemed to have it out for him.

He went to his knees as another wave of pain hit him. His back felt like it was on fire, like he was being whipped again. And he felt like he couldn't breathe; Madara really had broken his ribs, leaving him to breathe in little, panting gasps.

But he couldn't trust Madara, not anymore. Before he'd always gone to him if he was in trouble. But after what he'd done Madara would probably heal him, then throw him in a cage. The man didn't love him. He loved what he could do, his abilities and his body.

It was all the same. Fugaku had loved that he'd made Anbu at only thirteen. He was always bragging, calling him the 'Prodigy'. But he'd been so busy using Itachi to get the Uchiha clan attention he'd never treated him like a son, only like a favorite student who wasn't allowed to make a mistake. Even so Itachi had loved him. And he'd been disappointed in the end.

Konoha had been the same. Using Anbu for the 'messy' missions they'd been sure to break his trust as well, asking him to do something no thirteen-year-old should be asked.

Itachi had decided it was just the life of a ninja and stopped trusting people, except for Sasuke and Madara. But now Madara had proved himself to be like the rest of them and in the worst way. He'd never love someone like that, even though deep down he'd been lonely ever since he'd killed them all and left. No, it was more than that. It was… but it didn't matter. What mattered now was staying alive long enough to find his otouto.

He coughed up blood onto the ground. But he didn't want to pass out again; he was so sick of it. Tired of being weak, tired of letting everyone use him. Enough. It was becoming too much to keep up with.

He struggled to his feet just as a shuriken came flying towards him. He couldn't find the energy to dodge and so he stood there as the metal bit into his shoulder. He spun back a little ways, eyes glazed over in pain. He staggered a bit then fell, landing gracelessly in a heap on his side.

The person Itachi expected least to see stalked out of the trees, favoring one hand. Sasuke, his beloved otouto. The thought that this might be the last time he ever saw Sasuke again made his limbs feel heavy with sorrow. He wasn't sure he had the strength any longer to lift his hand against the crushing sadness.

"Sasuke-kun…" Itachi gasped out between little, hissed breaths. But his brother cut him off.

"No! No, I can't do this anymore!! I can't nii-san." Sasuke sounded half hysterical, which immediately had Itachi on edge. "I'm just going to kill you while I have the chance to and be done with it!"

Itachi saw the glint of a long, wicked-looking blade in Sasuke's hand. Was it really going to end like this? Without Sasuke ever knowing?

XX

_This chapter is a bit more angsty than the others but you all knew it had to happen sooner or later. There are gonna be more fight scenes to come and an interesting visitor! Anyway please review and check for updates!! _


	9. Chapter 9

9

_Oh god, I am soooo sorry about not updating in forever! I know you guys absolutely hate it when I do that! What happened was I went back to school & pre-med was like you will not have a life. But I redid my schedule so I have free time now. Sorry again! To make up for not updating in forever the next chapter will definitely be out this coming Sunday. So please keep reading my story and don't hate me too much, lol. _

_Thanks to Ani, AnoS, Yumemi, LovelyMystery, Pigfish, Venuss, K, Susana, att, gothikia, and xXlyraxvinceXx. _

_Yumemi, I really miss writing my kinky sex too! Hopefully I'll be able to write more soon. _

_Venuss, you're kinda close to what happens, although with Itachi's personality I don't know he'd feel about being saved. _

_Sorry K but I agree with att, I like how the Japanese sounds, though thanks for commenting on what you thought. _

_Gothika, I promise you the story isn't over yet! Thanks for being patient._

_xXlyraxvinceXx, I'm glad you think it's exciting. I get exciting writing the fight scenes and I really get into the story. _

9

Itachi looked up at his little brother as Sasuke brought his arm back, preparing to plunge the knife through his ribs, into his heart. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. But Itachi wasn't about to simply lie there and die. And he never waited for anyone to save him; he saved himself.

He drew chakara to his feet, propelling himself up and away from Sasuke's potentially fatal strike. Sasuke's howl of frustration echoed through the woods as Itachi spun out of his way yet again, this time slapping the nerve on the inside of his bicep. Sasuke's suddenly nerveless fingers dropped the knife and he glared at Itachi, eyes wide and bulging. He looked insane, more animal than human.

And Itachi knew that he only had a limited supply of chakara left. So this wasn't going to last much longer. He had to go after his otouto seriously, either to knock him out or kill him, or the fight would last too long and his body would give out.

So when Sasuke lunged at him he ducked under his punch, landing a solid ridge-hand to the boy's throat. Before he had time to recover, Itachi grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him down into a hard knee to the gut. Then he swept his feet out from under him, throwing him none-too-gently to the ground. Sasuke didn't even try to move; he lay there, wheezing and gasping pitifully. So it was easy to simply kick him in the temple, effectively knocking him out.

Itachi stood there, gasping, muscles trembling a little. Now that the rush of adrenaline was fading he knew he was in shock and would probably bleed out soon. Oddly enough he wasn't scared at the thought of his impending death. He just felt…numb. Every breath was so hard to take… Even sounds were fading now… And when he heard someone screaming he assumed it to be Sasuke, pissed that he hadn't been the one to kill him.

XX

Madara screamed wordlessly, horrified as he saw Itachi collapse, arriving too late to save the man he loved. "Itachi?! Itachi! Iie, iie!! Oh god…"

He didn't remember running over and dropping to his knees beside Itachi; it was like he blinked and he was there. He reached out, hesitated, then traced the slender line of Itachi's face gently. His chest felt so tight that he was sure he was having a heart attack. It just hurt so damn bad!

A few drops of water landed on Itachi's still face and he raised a hand in surprise to his own face. He hadn't realized he'd started crying again. And that's when he lost it.

"ITACHI! Kimasen! Kimasen! Onegai…watashinoni kaerimasu!!" (Come back! Come back! Please…return to me!!) He frantically began transferring his chakara to Itachi. Healing his wounds, giving him energy, managing to help Itachi just barely cling to life. He no longer cared if he died doing this. He wanted Itachi alive and happy. What a horrible monster he's been to the young prodigy…

Sobbing, he shakily felt for a pulse… And to his utter joy found one. Albeit a weak one, but better than none. He gathered Itachi in his arms, holding him as you would a precious child. _I promise you you'll be safe in my arms from now on. Nothing bad will ever happen to you again because I won't let it. And if you want to kill me after I apologize… Well, I won't stop you because I at least owe you that._

As he made his way back to base, careful not to jar the unconscious man in his arms, he mulled over how different his thoughts were now. They seemed to have made a one-eighty. And all because he almost drove the one he loved away. Because now he truly realized just how much Itachi meant to him.

If only he hadn't been such a stupid, sadistic bastard… He knew that, no matter what happened, he'd always regret what he'd done.

XX

Itachi whimpered in his sleep, curling in on himself. _Another nightmare? _The man had been unconscious now for three days, but through Madara's constant chakara donation was stable. His only worry now was dehydration.

He gently rubbed Itachi's back, freshly healed with no trace of even a single scar. Madara felt like permanently marring his own back in retribution, but right now the only thing he wanted to do was take care of Itachi. If Itachi died… He'd never be able to forgive himself.

Madara hummed quietly, watching Itachi settle down. He wondered if his mother had sung him to sleep when he'd been a child. "Mmmf…" Itachi mumbled incoherently as his eyes slowly opened. Blinked a few times, then came to rest on him. The reaction was instantaneous.

Itachi seemed to shrink back from him, staring at him out of blank, mistrustful eyes. His whole body was tense, like a tiger's before it attacks its prey. "You again…" He breathed quietly.

"'Tachi-"

He was cut off by the overwhelming hatred in his student's glare. Even though he couldn't blame him it still hurt. "You know what Madara? I just don't care anymore. Fuck you, fuck Akatsuki, fuck _everything_!" His voice got quieter right when Madara thought he'd really start yelling. That was ten times worse than if he's just screamed at him.

"I quit so if you wanna kill me go right ahead, because I'm not fighting for you anymore. So it was pointless of you to save me. I don't even care if I go blind anymore because I'm so sick of this game. I just want to tell Sasuke and just…just…"

"I'm so, so sorry… Itachi…" Madara's voice was barely a whisper, overflowing with choked emotions. His eyes were so full of emotion whereas Itachi's were so dead and blank they could have passed for those of a dead man's.

"Itachi, Itachi, Itachi…" Hot tears rolled down his face, dragging surprise into Itachi's empty eyes. "I know I've been…the worst. Beyond worst to you. But…but I couldn't stand it now if you were unhappy or hurt! Because…b-because I realized I love you." Itachi's eyes widened, his mouth opening slightly. "I know you don't want to hear this right now but I need you to know. I know I'm a bastard, god I know. I could never tell you how s-sorry I am…" He struggled not to break down completely, wanting Itachi to hear what he had to say before he inevitably stormed out. "I understand completely if you hate me, or want to quit, because you have every right too. Even if…you want to kill me now I won't stop you! Gomen, g-gomen…" (Sorry, s-sorry…) _But it will never be enough._

His gasped breaths were the only sound in the stifling silence that pervaded the room. He couldn't bear to look Itachi in the eye as he shook with sobs, afraid of what he'd see in the other's face. But when he heard the bed creak he couldn't stop himself from looking for the man he knew he was about to lose. And got the greatest surprise of his life.

Itachi stood there, arms hugging the blanket around him as if he were cold. Silent tears streamed down his face as he stared at Madara. And then he turned and went to leave, still without a single word, moving slowly, stiffly.

And Madara, even though he'd said he'd let him go, couldn't stop himself from calling out one last time. "Matte!" (Wait!) His voice cracked.

Itachi turned back to him, still without a word, still crying. Trembling.

Before Madara could stop himself he was across the room and hugging Itachi to him in a tight embrace. He hated that look, that raw pain, on his student's face.

Itachi stiffened, then suddenly relaxed as he sobbed into Madara's chest, letting out all the pain, rage, and grief he'd been pretending hadn't effected him. Madara felt so close to him in that moment; Itachi, to his knowledge, had never let his guard down with anyone. And yet here they were…

Itachi's hands fisted the material of Madara's shirt as he clung to the man he'd once trusted. And Madara just held him.

XX

_Again, sorry for the delay. Please review and check back for the update on Sunday!_


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks to Ani, LovelyMystery, Yumemi, Att, Venuss, and Gothika for reviewing

_Thanks to Ani, LovelyMystery, Yumemi, Att, Venuss, and Gothika for reviewing!_

_Att, my clock says 11:59! Wow, I really left it down to the last minute. Definitely not doing that next time lol. But look, I did update on Sunday!_

_Venuss, well Itachi's known Madara since he was a kid. So he might be more willing to forgive him because him because of that or less because he didn't live up to who he thought he was. I think you'll like what happens next chapter. _

10

Itachi was lying in Madara's lap on the floor, trying to figure out how to get up and leave without attracting too much attention. He didn't know why he'd stayed in the first place; he should have never let Madara comfort him. Yet, the minutes went by and still he made no move to get up. Was he just clinging to the idea that Madara cared? Or did he really believe the man's apology? This was getting too complicated.

Madara shifted position, hesitantly stroking his hair. Itachi didn't stop him, even though his mind screamed at him too. Instead he leaned into Madara's touch, resting his head against the other man's chest. What was wrong with him? Did…did he care about Madara? Was that what was clouding his judgment?

"…'Tachi?" Madara asked quietly, almost as though he were afraid Itachi was going to yell at him.

"Hm?"

"About your eyes-"

"I'm not taking Sasuke's; I really meant what I said about…going blind." Itachi interrupted, hating how quiet his voice got at the end.

"No, 'Tachi, listen to me. There's another way."

"…What?" He wanted to believe him so, so badly. But why hadn't he simply said this before, instead of making him believe it was either Sasuke's eyes or blindness?

"While you were healing I did some research and found that a relative of yours lives in the Hidden Mist. He was only a baby when you left the village so you probably don't remember him."

"Why didn't I did kill him with the rest then? I wouldn't have missed him." Madara had to be making this up. It was too good to be true…

"His parents had gone on vacation. They lived with the child's grandparents so when you got to the house you didn't see it as empty, so you didn't think you missed anyone. After they heard what had happened they hid in the Mist, afraid to die themselves."

Itachi sat up, staring at Madara. Madara smirked, gently grabbing his student's chin and pulling Itachi close. His breath ghosted over Itachi's lips as he spoke. "I wouldn't lie to you about this. I missed it for so many years myself because I simply hadn't thought to look for it. Hiding in fear for one's life isn't a trait of our clan, so I thought if anyone noticed they'd have gone looking for revenge and we'd find them that way." He paused. "Lucky us, wouldn't you say?"

Itachi shivered, despite his best efforts not to. Then Madara's warm lips were on his and he couldn't come up with an excuse not to push him away. He'd cared enough to risk his own life trying to keep him alive hadn't he?

Madara drew Itachi closer, trapping him to his body with his hand tangled in Itachi's soft, raven hair. His other at his lower back, gently massaging the younger man's tense muscles. Itachi leaned into Madara, cupping his face with his hands and deepening the kiss. Madara nipped lightly at Itachi's lower lip, drawing a gasp from his throat. Then their tongues were sliding over each other, fighting for dominance as each explored the other's mouth.

Itachi pressed his body to Madara's in one long line from chest to hip. Madara moaned and the next thing Itachi knew he was pinned to the floor, gazing up at his master. "…M-Madara…" He struggled, trying to get free so he could touch Madara, kiss him…

"No, Itachi." Itachi's eyes widened in surprise; what was he playing at?

Seeing the look on Itachi's face, Madara leaned down, softly kissing him. "I don't want to do anything until you trust me again." He murmured in his ear.

"But I want you to!" Itachi hadn't meant to sound forceful. He just couldn't help that he wanted Madara right now. And why did it matter if he trusted him or not when they'd already done it before? Before Madara hadn't seemed to care that it had been more rape than anything else.

Madara kissed him again, then pulled away. "I don't want to you to regret it, Itachi. Last time I didn't give you a choice…"

But Madara was distracted enough that Itachi managed to free one hand. He grabbed the front of Madara's shirt and, using that and his legs as leverage, rolled Madara off of him. He rolled with Madara so that he came up on top and, before his master could react, had him pinned to the floor.

He smirked at the surprise on Madara's face, then leaned close to whisper, "Let me prove to you how much I trust you."

XX

_Sorry that I left it at a cliffy but I couldn't help myself. Lol. Anyway, this chapter is a little shorter simply because the next chapter is going to be quite long & I didn't want to have two very long chapters in a row._

_Also, the next chapter will have an unexpected twist. I don't want to say too much & ruin the surprise but someone lied in this chapter. Can you guess who? _

_Anyway, please review & check for updates!! _


	11. Chapter 11

_I'm so sorry this has taken me so long to update; my professors are bastards with tests. But I've decided that I care more about writing this since your reviews make me happy & at the moment I'm depressed. So thanks to: Susana, LovelyMystery, xXlyraXvinceXx, AnimeFreak4261, Yumemi, tina of DOOM, Pigfish, Venuss, Att, Gothika, and Love Psycho._

_Pigfish, well there will definitely be more sex in the future so don't worry about it, lol._

_Love Psycho, I'm just as sick & twisted for writing it. But it's ok, because it just means we're more interesting than those boring, normal people._

_Susana, good job! You're the only one who got it right. _

_Lyra, you make me feel so guilty for this chap. But I'll make it up to ya._

_Yumemi, yes I did take your suggestion for hot, consensual sex. ___

_Tina of DOOM, first of all your name rocks. & you're the person with most pleases ever. Thanks!_

_Att, you really motivated me to update this time. Thanks! _

11

Itachi leaned down, his face so close to Madara's that it looked like he was going to kiss him. He stared into his eyes, waiting for Madara to object or do something. Give some reaction. But he only lay there, gazing curiously up at Itachi. This was going to be easier than he'd thought.

"Madara…" Itachi rested his forehead against Madara's, making their staring contest that much more intimate. "I don't want to leave you." Then his lips were on his sensei's.

Madara had no idea what to do. Itachi had never shown any inclination that he'd ever return his feelings. Yet here the man was, saying he wanted to stay with him, _kissing_ him of his own free will. Was this a dream?

Itachi's tongue slid over his lower lip and suddenly they were French-kissing, hands everywhere. Pants, quiet moans filled the silence. And still, in the back of his mind, Madara wondered if he was dreaming. Itachi's hand trailed down his stomach, massaging the hardening bulge in his pants, and Madara stopped wondering if this was real or not. He moaned, unable to keep himself from bucking his hips, longing for more of Itachi's touch.

Itachi roughly slammed his hands back to the floor when he reached for him, pinning them above his head while he continued to torture him with his free hand. Madara tried to pull free, not entirely comfortable with being held down, but Itachi only tightened his grip to just this side of pain.

"I thought you liked it rough, Madara." He teased.

He slipped his hand into Madara's pants, lightly caressing his tip with his nails. Madara shivered, panting. Itachi smirked at the way he looked beneath him, the father of the Uchiha clan reduced to a panting, sweaty mess.

"Tell me how much you like this, sensei." Itachi demanded in a low, rough voice.

Madara's only response was a gasp when Itachi squeezed his base, trying futilely to pull free.

"Well sensei?" Itachi smirked, just barely brushing his lips across the other's.

But apparently, Madara didn't want to cooperate when the tables were turned. He turned his head to the side, panting and moaning, squirming as he tried to find the friction he so desperately needed. And Itachi just couldn't help himself; it was so fun to tease the man.

Itachi slowly pumped his length, watching Madara bite his lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from crying out.

"Madara, Madara," Itachi mocked the other's tone from earlier in the week. "Do you really think I'm going to let you get away with that?"

Itachi pulled his shirt off, ripping and using it to tie Madara's wrists securely to the leg of the nearest table. Madara's eyes widened a bit but before he could protest Itachi pressed a finger to his lips, wordlessly telling him to shut up.

"Are you being stubborn, master? You don't like it when our roles are reversed, do you? But," Itachi leaned closer, sensually licking the shell of Madara's ear. "I wonder what you'll say after I have _you _screaming and begging."

Madara shivered, Itachi was turning him on so badly he could hardly think. "Ah, A-ah…" He writhed, unable to keep from crying out anymore as Itachi slid down his body, kissing and nipping at the skin around his navel.

"I-Itachi… 'Tachi!" He hissed out between gasps as Itachi relieved him of his pants and continued where he'd left off.

He slipped his fingers just under the waistband of Madara's boxers, teasing him with soft strokes then dragging his nails across his skin. This earned a whine from Madara, who was flushing bright pink now. Though Itachi wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or arousal, although he'd guess it was a mix of the two.

Itachi licked along the new line of exposed skin as he tugged Madara's boxers down further, murmuring, "I can't wait to fuck you," He pulled his boxers the rest of the way off, "To see your face as I dominate you." He nipped his neck roughly, sucking hard at the salty taste of Madara's skin and leaving behind a bright red hickey.

"Itachi…" Madara gasped as he thumbed his slit, smirking up at him before taking him into his mouth. Madara moaned as Itachi ran his teeth lightly over his sensitive underside, sucking hard.

Madara had never had a blowjob from Itachi before but the younger man was amazingly good at it. It made him wonder how many times Itachi had done it before, and he didn't like the pang of jealously that shot through him at the thought of Itachi with someone else.

His train of thought was lost as Itachi swirled his tongue around his tip, making him moan loudly. Itachi slid his hand up his thigh, adjusting so he cold play with his balls as he continued to suck him.

"Oh- oh my god Itachi! Shit…" He gasped, squirming underneath the other man's touch. "Don't stop!! Nnh…"

But Madara quickly became uncomfortable as Itachi slid his hand farther back to gently circle a finger around his entrance. He was always top, always dominant, so bottom just wasn't going to work. And it wasn't going to happen. But no matter how hard he yanked on the cloth tying his hands to the table leg he couldn't get free. Either the intense pleasure was distracting him or Itachi had infused chakara into the cloth when he was tying him up. Knowing Itachi he'd guess it to be the latter.

"Tsk, tsk, Madara. Are you afraid now?" He leaned so close they were almost nose to nose, his breath ghosting across Madara's lips when he spoke. "Afraid to be fucked, hm?"

"Let me go." Madara demanded, glaring at Itachi. And Itachi only laughed.

"I don't think so. You're not in charge right now _sensei_, so you don't call the shots." He got up and walked out of Madara's line of sight. For a second he thought he'd left but then he was back with a tube of lube. Fuck.

Itachi knelt between his legs again, smearing the lube on his fingers and Madara's entrance. Madara was really trying not to freak out now. So what if he didn't want Itachi to fuck him? He wasn't about to let on and flip out; that wouldn't help him.

Itachi kissed him, drawing his attention back to what was happening. "Madara, don't freak out on me." He pressed his finger to his entrance again and, with no way out of the situation and even though he'd swore not to, Madara freaked. He couldn't help it.

"Don't!!" He hated how his voice sounded shaky, afraid.

Itachi looked at him curiously; he'd never expected Madara to care about this of all things. Was he an ass virgin or did he just really hate bottom?

Itachi pumped his free hand slowly up and down his cock, distracting his sensei. "I'm not going to hurt you, Madara." He gently kissed his forehead, "But I need you to relax."

"Mmh…" Madara looked up at his student and slowly nodded. Taking a deep breath he relaxed, deciding to trust Itachi.

Itachi slowly pushed one finger past that tight ring of muscle, causing Madara to squirm at the uncomfortable feeling. He leaned down, gently kissing his master's cheek, nose, lips, gradually coaxing him to relax. He began to pump his finger slowly in and out, making out with Madara to keep him distracted. When he added a second Madara whimpered quietly.

"Shh baby." Itachi murmured, gently stroking the side of his face.

Madara whimpered again as Itachi scissored him; he was never being bottom again! But…he trusted Itachi…so he tried to relax again.

Itachi pulled his fingers out, then stripped, keeping eye contact with his sensei the entire time. He smeared lube on his throbbing erection, leaning close and kissing Madara.

"You OK?" He whispered, gently nipping the other man's ear lobe.

"H-hai."

Itachi slowly entered his sensei, inch by inch, until he was fully ensheathed in the other man. Madara closed his eyes tightly, unable to stop whimpering. Itachi leaned down to capture his lips, trying once again to distract him.

"Nnh…"

"Relax, Madara, it's OK." He kissed him again, this time getting a response. Their make-out session became more heated as it went on, successfully allowing Madara to relax.

Itachi nipped the others lip before pulling almost all the way out, then slamming back in. Madara moaned loudly, arching his back as he tried to take more of Itachi inside himself.

"Sh-shit! Nnh…Itachi!!" Madara gasped, squirming beneath his student's ministrations.

Itachi continued to pound into his sensei, nipping and sucking at his neck, leaving more marks. "Tell me how much you like my rock hard cock up your ass, fucking you." Itachi's voice was a low growl in his ear and Madara became impossibly hard at the sound and dirty talk.

He screamed. "F-fuck! I-" His voice cracked, turning into a strangled moan as Itachi firmly grabbed his erection, pumping him in time with his thrusts. "S-sooo good! Ah, ah!! ITACHI!" He didn't even know what he was screaming anymore, the waves of pleasure making him more and more incoherent as Itachi abused his prostate.

And then he was cumming, seeing white behind his eyes as he screamed over and over. He felt Itachi cum as well, coating his insides with hot, sticky seed. He moaned between strangled gasps, struggling to get his breath back.

"Nnh… 'Tachi…" He half whined, trying to pull his hands free; he wanted to hold his student, to stay with him.

That was when he realized Itachi was laughing. Mocking him? Nothing was funny, unless… No, no, no! No…

Itachi grabbed his chin and forced Madara to look at his smirking, contemptuous face. "How do you like it, whore?" He hissed, anger simmering behind his eyes.

"Ita-"

Itachi punched him in the face, hard. Madara tasted blood, but it didn't hurt enough.

Itachi got up and got dressed, ignoring Madara's struggles to get loose and his attempts to get his attention. He didn't even glance over his shoulder as he left, his only parting words, "I should really kill you", lingering behind him in the stale silence.

Madara's nose and lip were bleeding freely, his ass hurt, his wrists no doubt were covered in rope burn. And it didn't hurt enough. Not enough to cover up the burning, crushed feeling in his chest.

He howled, losing it completely, as he thrashed about, trying to free himself to no avail…

XX

He vaguely remembered screaming, sobbing, blackness. His throat was raw now. But Madara had simply stopped caring. How could he have been so naïve? Of course Itachi had never loved him! No one did; he was the failure of the goddamned clan.

How much of Itachi had been an act? Even when he was a child? He didn't want to think about it anymore but his mind was stuck on it. His chest ached…

Tears pricked behind his eyes. Hadn't he cried enough over the younger man? This time he couldn't play the hero for Itachi; he wasn't coming back. So wasn't it time to get the fuck up and keep going? But he'd _always_ had a thing for his student. He'd always…loved him. What if he had to kill him? Could he even go through with it if it came to that?

Hot tears slid down his face and still he made no move to escape. Itachi had obviously wanted someone else to find the 'great Madara', naked and tied up, broken. And if that was what Itachi wanted, to humiliate him, revenge, then who was he to say no?

He could feel his old personality slipping away. He didn't want to handle this, didn't want to keep pushing forward. A strangled sob caught in his throat as hesitant footsteps approached the door.

"…Madara-san?"

XX

_Alright, don't be mad now, lol. Can you really blame Itachi for wanting for wanting revenge? Although there will be another surprise in the next chap, which will defiantly (swear on my life) be out sometime on Sunday. Thanks for sticking with my story! Who do you guys think is at the door, calling Madara's name?_

_Please review & check for updates!! _


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey guys! Thanks to Pigfish, Ani, Yumemi, Susana, Nana, & LovelyMystery for the reviews! You guys rock. _

_Pigfish, sorry but it's not 'Tachi._

_Susana & LovelyMystery I really like the role switch too! & sorry but it's not Pein either._

12

Itachi actually felt regret at leaving Madara like that, but he viciously tamped the feeling down; it was far too late for regrets and what ifs. He had to stick to his original plan: find Sasuke and tell him the truth, the vicious secrets Konoha and the Uchiha clan had kept from nearly everyone.

He supposed that he could find his long-lost relative, steal his eyes, continue living. But he didn't waste lives. He'd already killed enough of himself when he murdered his entire clan. Yes it had been for the 'greater good' but that didn't mean the act hadn't left it's own little bloodstain on his soul.

Besides, he'd do anything to keep Konoha safe with the way Tsunadae was running it now, and Madara was hell bent on destroying it. So maybe, maybe the best thing to do would be to explain to his otouto, then kill Madara. He ignored the sharp pang in his chest at the thought.

Madara had been his sensei ever since he could remember. He'd sneak out at night to train with the man, never telling anyone he existed, because Madara had told him he was an exile and his father would stop him from training with him if he knew. At least he hadn't lied back then. How almost blindly he'd come to trust the man. Itachi was glad he'd caught his mistake.

But…he could never truly think of his time with Madara as a mistake. Even though he'd proved to be everything Itachi had suspected he was: an untrustworthy 'ally', a user, a bitter immortal. And he'd deserved Itachi walking out on him after all the lies, vague promises, rape, and beatings.

Itachi was absolutely positive about two things. He could kill Madara and wouldn't hesitate in doing so, and his homicide would irrevocably tear Itachi apart.

XX

"…Madara-san?" Zetsu's voice, white and hesitant, questioned from the doorway.

_Pull yourself the fuck together! C'mon, don't think about him. You have to stop; you're the leader so get up and act like it! _Madara screamed at himself in his head, able to calm down as he reminded himself of the role he held. But god, Zetsu? At least he wouldn't be as awkward as someone like Deidara but he'd definitely have preferred Pein.

"I'm going to ask you a favor, Zetsu. And once you're done with it you are never to speak of it again, understand?" He monotoned.

"Of course."

"Untie me." He had to fight to not let his voice make the command a question.

Zetsu went over to him and began picking at the knots. It seemed that he couldn't break them because of the chakara binding. Simply untying the knots! Such an easy answer… Itachi really was a master of manipulation, of mirages.

"_When you push someone too far they will turn away from you and only remember the good times in the past. To them your present self will be an empty shell of the sensei you used to be." _His black voice murmured quietly, hitting the nail on the head.

Madara's scowl deepened. Oh, he was so not in the mood.

"And if you don't take outside advice sooner or later you'll lose him, if you haven't already." Light voice's gentle rebuttal cut off Madara's scathing response.

He sighed. "I really am a bastard, huh?" He mumbled, suddenly ashamed of the coarse way he'd treated his student. Especially since he cared about him.

"I'd say you have one chance left to redeem yourself."

"_Yes, but don't blow it._"

"I don't even know what to say…" Madara hissed, annoyed at himself. He sat up, idly rubbing where the restraints had cut into his flesh, leaving behind angry, red marks.

Zetsu snickered, an out of character thing for him to do. "_Follow your heart._" It came out sarcastic but was probably meant as genuine advice.

"Hm."

Zetsu melted into the floor before Madara could swallow his pride and thank him. A heart-to-heart with Zetsu of all people. He shook his head, wincing as he stood and a sharp pain shot upwards from the base of his spine.

But now he had a mission to do. Find Itachi.

XX

"God _fucking _damn it!!" Sasuke screamed, flinging a glass against the wall. It shattered all over the place and Kabuto glanced up from his place at the table to shoot him a dirty look. _Stupid, spoiled brat. I don't know how Orochimaru-sama puts up with him…_

"And stop LOOKING AT ME!" He shrieked, throwing more glassware against the wall. The boy was really hysterical. Perhaps he needed meds? Or a good punch would do Kabuto decided. But he only smiled sweetly at him.

"Amusing yourself by breaking all of my things, Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru drawled, moving into the kitchen to drape an arm over Sasuke's shoulders.

Kabuto had to fight really hard not to burst out in peals of laughter at the look on Sasuke's face. The boy looked like he had a mouthful of rotten grapes.

Sasuke shrugged out from under Orochimaru's embrace, still glaring but drastically quieter. "You promised me power, Orochimaru!" The boy hissed, thoroughly pissed. "Maybe if you'd get off your ass and train me for once I might be able to beat _him_!"

Orochimaru gave him a baleful look, no doubt having heard the same argument earlier in the week. "And if you actually did what you were told to like a good, little boy you'd improve. I've told you five times already, you rely entirely too much on your Sharingan; become better at Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, and _then _I'll train you seriously."

"I did that!" Sasuke whined under his breath, glaring at the wall. He stalked from the room, muttering something along the lines of 'worse than Konoha'.

Orochimaru sat down across from Kabuto, raising an eyebrow at the look on his servant's face. "Does Sasuke-kun provide that much entertainment for you, Kabuto?"

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama. He's frustrating to deal with but terrible at arguing so it's easy to get my way…"

Sasuke stopped eavesdropping on them; their conversation was only pissing him off more. He wanted, no _needed_, to kill his brother! But he still loved his nii-san… He dropped his head into his hands, pulling at his hair in frustration. This was impossible!

But he'd left Konoha, joined Orochimaru, for this purpose. He was an Avenger. So he had no choice but to do his duty to his long-dead clan. To kill Itachi, with or without Orochimaru's help.

XX

"_I know I've been the worst. Beyond worst to you. But…but I couldn't stand it now if you were unhappy or hurt! Because…b-because I realized I love you."_

"_Even if…you want to kill me now I won't stop you! Gomen, gomen…" _(Sorry, sorry…)

"_Aishiteru." _(I love you.)

Madara's words echoed in his head, haunting him.

"…_never leave me."_

_So I thought if I made you mine you'd stay."_

"_Please, gofunkan." _(Please, five minutes.)

Every step was harder and harder to take, Madara's plea for five minutes replaying again and again in his mind. He stopped. K'so, he really hated himself now. (Damn)

And he turned around, walking back to Madara.

XX

_This chapter was focused more on the characters feelings since I have to move the plot along. Everything that happened in this chapter will be important in the next since a whole ton of shit is about to go down. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the surprise at the end. _

_Please review & check back for updates! The next update will be up sometime Sunday, probably earlier than this one was posted. Happy Thanksgiving!_


	13. Chapter 13

_Thanks to LostandAwaiting, Yumemi, Ani, Seellike, Susana, Pigfish, & xXlyraxvinceXx for reviewing!! _

_LostandAwaiting, I really need to explain what naruto is to you before you read more, lol. Maybe over xmas or aim, if I ever get on. _

_Yumemi, lol ya it was the creeper Zetsu. It wouldn't have been as good if it was someone semi-normal. _

_Susana, I liked the ending too. I love 'Tachi/Madara. _

_Lyra, ya Itachi does his illusions. _

13

Madara strolled along the path, wanting to figure out some idea of what he was going to say before he caught up to Itachi. He'd never wanted anyone for anything more than sex before, so he was ay a loss of what words to say. But he guessed that what he actually said didn't matter, as long as Itachi knew what he meant was all that counted for anything.

And if Itachi still wanted nothing to do with him? He knew very well that fairytales didn't exist. And yet, here he was, asking for his very own. Hoping.

XX

Itachi landed in front of Madara, watching the shock flicker over his face. Before he could say anything Itachi crossed the short distance between them, threw his arms around his neck, and was pressing his lips to Madara's.

Madara wrapped his arms around his waist, closing the distance between their bodies, and kissed back passionately.

"Gomenasai… Aishiteru… Itachi…" (I'm so sorry… I love you…) Madara gasped between kisses.

Itachi pulled back and pressed a finger to his lips, smirking. "Urasai. We're both sorry so lets just forget about it." (Shut up.) He kissed him once. "Aishiteru." (I love you.) And again.

Madara laughed, cupping Itachi's face in his hands so he could look into his eyes. "I thought I'd lost you! Kami… Itachi you have no idea how happy you've made me." (God…)

"I think I have some idea." He smiled.

XX

"And then he kissed him, and-"

"No he fucking didn't!" Sasuke interrupted, barely managing not to jump to hid feet and strangle Kabuto.

Kabuto shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I saw, Sasuke-kun."

"Then why don't you find him and actually kill him? Or are you _still_ not good enough?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Fine." Sasuke seemed remarkably calmer now that he had something to do. "I will."

After he left, Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows. "It's not nice to antagonize Sasuke-kun, Kabuto."

Kabuto grinned. "I can't help myself; it's so easy. Besides, I have nothing to do while I wait for those test tubes to ferment."

"Another experiment?"

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama."

"Hm. Just don't let Sasuke-kun get killed. I need his body."

"Hai."

Kabuto watched him leave, annoyance simmering behind his eyes. It was always about Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun. And the boy did nothing whine! He wasn't nearly as good as everyone made him out to be. Kabuto actually even _did_ thing around their base: running experiments, helping Orochimaru run the village, training, even being a med nin! Yet he never got any praise or recognition for it. Was it so bad to just want Orochimaru to say 'thank you' or 'good job'? Was it?

So he stooped to harassing Sasuke whenever the chance arose. After all, what _else_ could he do? But he'd be damned if he was gonna be the kid's babysitter. Even if he wasn't that strong Sasuke could take care of himself and Itachi wouldn't kill him. So instead of tailing the loud-mouthed Uchiha he headed back to his lab. The tubes should have fermented by then…

XX

Sasuke ran through the forest, racing after what he knew was Itachi's chakara signal. There was another signal with him but he guessed it belonged to his partner, Kisame. At the moment he didn't care; all he was thinking of was Itachi's death.

Yes, he knew he still loved his brother, but he _had_ to do this. If he didn't Orochimaru or someone else would. And he'd _promised_ to! It was his life's purpose to kill the man who murmured his parents, his clan. And so, even if a large part of him didn't want to, he had no choice.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost ran right into his nii-san. Who was holding hands with another man. someone Sasuke didn't know. His eyes widened at the sight, was it true what Kabuto had told him then? Was that man…Madara?

"Otouto." Itachi grabbed his wrist. He probably looked like he was going to bolt. "I have something to talk to you about."

"You're…what? No!" Sasuke stuttered, struggling to pull free.

Itachi yanked him closer. "Sasuke. I need you to listen to me. I'm going to tell you why I had to kill everyone."

Sasuke stared at him, was there really a reason? Was there some slim possibility that his nii-san wasn't a cold-blooded killer? He wanted so, so badly to believe there was…

Slowly he nodded. The he turned to Madara, looking at him suspiciously. "Are you really Uchiha Madara?"

Madara smirked. "Yes."

"Why are you with Itachi? I thought Kisame was his partner… And shouldn't you be dead?" He had so many questions.

"I'm with Itachi because I'm the real leader of Akatsuki and I'm his boyfriend." Madara ignored his last question, feeling his answer was enough to distract the boy.

And it was. "Nii-san's…boyfriend?"

Itachi smirked, obviously amused by his response. But before he could say anything Zetsu appeared, growing out of the closest tree.

"We have a problem, Madara-san." He said, and for once his black side didn't argue the point. "Kisame is dying."

Itachi stiffened, anger flickering across his expression before his face fell back into its usual blank, unreadable expression.

"What?! How did that happen?" Madara demanded.

" Konoha attacked and he was scraped by a poisoned kunai."

"Well fuck. What about the others?"

"We're still under attack. _Deidara got Kisame out. The bastards-_"

"We're going. Itachi?"

Itachi looked at Sasuke, unsure of what to do with him. He had to move, to defend the base. But he couldn't just walk from Sasuke again.

"I'll…I'll come with you, nii-san."

XX

"You know the story of how Madara tried to get the Uchiha clan to take over Konoha and lost?"

"Ya." Sasuke leapt from tree to tree next to his brother, following Madara.

"Konoha was afraid the Uchiha clan would try to take over again, so they waited until I was in anbu and then they gave me a top secret mission. They wanted me to kill the entire clan so they wouldn't have to worry about us taking over, because they had heard whispers of a rebellion. And the rumors were true. Father was also using me as a secret agent, but so we could take over. The Uchiha's were tired of Konoha's rules and wanted the fame of ruling the village.

"What father didn't realize was how much I loved the village and I knew what he was doing was wrong. When I told the hokage he ordered the mission to be carried out that night. So I killed everyone except you; I couldn't bring myself to harm you when you were the only one that saw me as more than a useful shinobi. When Tsunadae became hokage I returned to the village tot ell her what really happened, before she heard about from her advisors, and asked her not to tell you."

"Why didn't you want me to know?!" Sasuke demanded, shocked at what had really happened.

"Because I wanted to tell you myself, and because you would have told everyone to defend me and that would have ruined the Uchiha name even more. As it is everyone respects our name; Father would have liked that."

"But…but why couldn't we know? Because of a name?! Then everyone wouldn't hate you…nii-san…"

"Konoha couldn't have everyone knowing they killed their own; there would have an uproar. So I pretended to be the bad guy."

"But that's not fair…" Sasuke sounded like he was going to cry.

"Hey." Itachi punched his shoulder lightly. "Cheer up, Sasu. You can stay with me if want."

Sasuke jumped into Itachi, hugging him tightly. And Itachi hugged him back, guilt washing over him for everything his otouto had had to go through alone, for what he'd stolen from him.

"Gomenasai, otouto." (I'm so sorry, little brother.)

XX

_I felt like this chapter needed to move the plot along some. But guess what? Next chapter you get blood & gore, & sex! So all's good. But I am sad that I only got 7 reviews this time. As usual the next chapter will be out Sunday!_

_Please review & check for updates!!_


	14. Chapter 14

_I apologize for this not being out last night. I got back a lot later than I'd planned from helping at a black belt test in Jersey. But a quick WARNING before you read this chapter: this is a very sad chapter, & you can't take things at face value here. So stop reading if something happens that you don't like. For this chapter I decided to thank everyone personally, so if you don't wanna read everyone's just look for your name & the start of the chapter._

_Katsu, yep I've decided to put Sasuke with someone unique. I've never seen this couple before but I like it. _

_Yumemi, aw don't worry, you see what happens to sharky in this chap. & I hope you enjoy the violence & sex. _

_Artistic wolf, I try to update every Sunday so you're not left waiting forever to see what happens next._

_Lyra, I try to keep up with the story because I know how annoying it is to find a story you like & then the artist never updates. I like Kisame too. _

_M190, thanks for the advice; it's mostly why I'm thanking everyone individually & really looking at all the comments a few time._

_KakashiXIrukaLover, aren't they an awesome couple?_

_Pigfish, you & your threesomes, lol. Maybe one day I'll have to write one for you. _

_Martsa, hm, encourage might be a better word than cheer. But I'm glad you enjoy it!_

_Seellike, I have this nasty habit of killing off characters. But no one ides in this chapter so don't worry about Kisame yet._

_Evilrevan, is the revan in your name from star wars? If so he's an awesome character so cool name, & thanks for the review!_

_Susana, me too! it makes me sad how all the Akatsuki keep dying. I did try to make Sasuke more innocent in this fic so I'm glad you noticed. _

_LovelyMystery, lol, I'm sure they appreciate your concern. & yay for sadism!_

_Black55widow, I swear you read my mind. _

_Ani, aw, I know! Finally some well deserved relationship fluff, right? _

14

Pein ducked underneath chidori, throwing a ridge-hand that connected with the surprised copy nin's nose with a sickening crunch. _God damn poisoned kunai! If anyone else gets cut by one we're fucked._ A chakara signal flared and he whirled around.

Kurenai had appeared beside Kakashi, whose mask was now saturated with blood. Kakashi pushed up his headband so it lay straight for once and activated his Sharingan. However, before anyone could move, three figures hurtled by them.

Sasuke stopped, leaving Itachi and Madara to go ahead, and threw himself on Kakashi.

"Kakai-sensei!" He yelled, panicked. Without a second thought Kakashi pulled his former student behind him and Kurenai. Sasuke smirked and jabbed his fingers into the pressure point on the back of their necks. Kurenai managed to cry out for help before they collapsed, but no one would come. The base was a battleground; screams, cries for help, the clanking of steel on steel, broken dreams, and the stench of blood and gore rose up from the land. Ninja fights were far from merciful or quick.

Pein looked at Sasuke for a moment, as if debating whether or not to tell him to get lost. Right as Sasuke was about to tell him off for wasting time Pein held out his hand, seemingly completely at ease with his surroundings, in no hurry. Sasuke briefly wondered how many battles he'd fought before he reached out and shook the rinnegan user's hand.

"Welcome to the team, Sasuke."

And then Pein was gone, off somewhere amid the shrieks. But he didn't see Sasuke as a worthless kid! Determined to prove Pein right Sasuke dug in his bag for a kunai…

XX

Itachi and Madara darted among the Anbu, leaving behind a path of blood and death, forbidden Sharingan's flashing in the dying light. They were ripping through Anbu's forces, trying to leave those alive where they could but killing most, so there'd be no slim chance of them getting up and attacking again.

A woman with the mask of a cat rushed Itachi with a sword, swinging it downwards to cleave him in two. He darted to her side, grabbed her wrists, and forced the strike down and at an angle, slicing through most of her thigh. Wailing, she let go, trying to stop the splatter of rich, dark blood that sprayed frantically from the severed artery. Swiftly he snapped her neck, not liking to cause needless suffering if it could be avoided, and scooped the glittering sword into his waiting hands.

He lunged, stabbing a man with the mask of a raven in the gut. Then he yanked his blade free, guts spilling free in a river of blood and screams, and whirled to face another. Spinning, he sliced off hands at the wrist, laid open backs and organs to the night air, guided the hungry blade through the soft flesh of throats.

And through it all his Sharingan remained active, catching whoever looked him in the eyes in a world of misery. But it was starting to hurt. His eyes ached and began to cry tears of blood before he even contemplated using Amaterasu. He had to deactivate his Sharingan…but he couldn't! Not in the middle of fighting a group of Anbu. And so he had no choice but to push it and hope his chakara system wouldn't shut down.

XX

Madara grabbed a jounin by the throat and threw her into a group of Anbu, knocking the ones who couldn't get out of the way fast enough to the ground. He glanced around, noticing that most of Konoha's force was on the floor in various states of injury. A lot of them still fought but knowing Konoha they'd stay behind to tend to their wounded…

And he really couldn't risk one of his own men dying. Not now. Side stepping an attack he side kicked the Anbu in the back, hearing a sharp snap as his spine broke. A wail started up but was silenced as the distracted nin fell on a blade with a sickening, wet sound.

"Iku!" (Go!) He yelled above the noise. "Retreat!!" He made sure everyone was ahead of him before he sent a powerful blast of chakara back towards the few that pursued them, rupturing their blood vessels. Then he bounded to the front of the group, leaving Pein to take the rear.

"No one talks from here on out until I tell you otherwise. If you're going to pass out for whatever reason signal to me and we'll stop. Hide your chakara signals." He commanded.

He didn't glance around at them, knowing they'd be covered in blood and worse. But he wanted to know if Sasuke was ok with what he'd seen, that the kid wouldn't go nuts. He worried about Itachi's eyes and a possible collapse, if someone had gotten cut and not realized… But he had to push those concerns to the back of his mind for now. Right now he had to pay attention and detect any traps before they ran into them.

XX

By the time they got to Deidara and Kisame it was pitch black out and dogs were howling behind them. Kakashi's nin dogs probably. Although how they could detect any scent when everyone was covered in so many people's blood…

"How is he?" Madara asked.

The normally cheerful blonde frowned. "Not good, un. He won't wake up, yeah."

Sasori interrupted before Madara could say anything else and Madara let him; he was the expert on poison after all. "I took this," He held up a shurikan, "From the pouch of one of the ninja I killed. It has poison on it that I've analyzed the best I could on the way here. I need to perform a test to be sure but if I'm correct I have the antidote." He monotoned.

"What kind of test?" The dog's howling was steadily getting closer, echoing through the forest to reach them.

"I need chemicals, other elements of the antidote. If we can get to the next base I can test it and administer the antidote. If it's the poison I suspect it is he has twenty-four hours to live after being hit with it, so we need to move."

"The next base is forty-eight hours away…" Someone murmured.

"Then we'll take soldier pills and Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame will go ahead on one of Deidara's birds. We'll be there as soon as we can. Go." Madara commanded.

For once Sasori didn't complain about Deidara's 'art' but just hopped onto the bird Deidara conjured from clay and his chakara, keeping an arm around Kisame to anchor him. As they flew off Madara handed out soldier pills. And the dogs howled louder.

"Madara." Itachi called softly. And Madara immediately knew something was very, very wrong. "Sensei."

"What?" He managed to keep his voice steady, afraid of whatever Itachi was going to tell him.

Itachi stepped forward into the clearing, into the moonlight, and everyone gasped. Dark, bloody tears dripped from his onyx eyes in a steady stream. And when the light hit his eyes just right you could see a milky ring around the black; Itachi was starting to go blind. Madara couldn't even imagine how much pain his Itachi was in… He felt like someone had just punched all the air out of him because he couldn't breathe, and he wanted this to be a nightmare so, so badly…

"The dogs are tracking my blood, sensei." Itachi said quietly. "We'll have to spilt up."

"No!" Madara gasped. Everyone looked at him, surprised at the unexpected outburst. They were even more surprised when he crossed the clearing and pulled Itachi into his arms, holding him in a tight embrace. "I can't you go! Not now, not when…"

Itachi pulled back and pressed a finger to his lips, smiling wanly. "I'm aware this is most likely a suicide mission, sensei; I know if I use the Sharingan one more time I'll go blind. But I can't bring everyone down with me."

Madara closed his eyes tightly, hiding his face in the crook between Itachi's neck and shoulder. And Itachi just held him as the other Akatsuki looked on in shock.

"No!" Sasuke cried, pale and shaking, eyes wide. "Iie nii-san! Onegai, take my eyes!! Onegai!" (No brother! Please, take my eyes!! Please!) He yelled, running to Itachi and tugging on his hand.

Itachi pulled free of Madara's embrace gently and poked Sasuke in the forehead. "Dame." (No good.)

"Nani?!" (What?!) Tears overflowed and slid down Sasuke's distraught face. He'd finally gotten to know his brother again and now he was going to die?! No, no…

"Otouto, you're still young; you need to decide how to live your life, not throw it away for me. I've made my own decisions." He pulled his brother into a hug, which Sasuke clung to, sobbing. "I know I'm asking a lot but I need you to be strong now, Sasu. I need you to get to the base safe so I won't worry about you."

"Demo ni-nii-san…" (But br-brother…)

"Hush." Itachi murmured, drawing back to look his otouto in the eyes. "I'll see you later. Promise."

Sasuke nodded, choking on his tears as he turned away, terrified that this was the last time he'd see his brother alive. He remembered all the times Itachi had broken his 'promises'…but maybe this time, this time it would be different. It had to be.

Itachi kissed Madara softly, not caring who was watching. "Ja ne, koi." (Later, love.) He whispered before turning and running, leaping up into the trees. Minutes later the dogs howling sounded again, heading away from them.

"Madara…" Pein murmured, half afraid the Uchiha would snap and break his neck. "We need to move. You heard Itachi."

There was a long, pregnant pause, and when Madara finally raised his head the blankness in his eyes was far more frightening than any yelling or words he could have spoken. As he passed Sasuke he grabbed the kid's hand so he would be forced to keep up and couldn't run off after his brother.

Nothing was real. Everything was so sharp and in focus, but it didn't matter. All he had to do was get everyone to the next base and then nothing mattered anymore…

XX

What hurt the most was not knowing. Not knowing if he was alright, if he was blind, if he was…gone. They'd made it to the base without incident and Sasori had saved Kisame. It had been days… Deidara was normally the one who spent his days with Sasuke; the boy was attracted to the blonde's happy demeanor and Deidara seemed to be very adept at helping him cope with the uncertainty that stretched before them.

Madara sat by the largest window, resting his forehead against the cool glass and watching the rain fall. He had a suspicion Pein was behind it but he didn't care to find out. Everyone avoided him when they could and he was more than thankful for it. And kami it hurt…

He looked out the window and saw Itachi standing near the trees, struggling, staggering toward the base. He pressed his hand to the cold glass and bolted upright.

"Itachi!"

But he blinked and the ghost was gone. Madara leaned against the glass more, sliding down it as pain wracked his body. It hurt everywhere and he couldn't breathe, chest on fire… His broken sobs filled the empty room and echoed back to him. He prayed the ghost would come back, if only for one more glimpse…

"I-Itachi…" He whispered, hand pressed to the glass, reaching for someone who wasn't there.

What hurt the most was waiting, not knowing.

XX

Deidara gently kissed Sasuke's tears away, pulling the boy into a warm embrace. Sasuke smiled at him and hesitantly kissed his lips.

"Dei…?"

"Hm?"

"I… Will you… I need to not think tonight; I need a distraction. Please… I swear I'm not looking to use you because…because I really like you." He blushed, then felt guilty at finding any small form of happiness while he still didn't know about his nii-san.

Deidara smiled when Sasuke flushed; he looked so damn adorable. And Deidara wasn't worried about being used because the kid was too sweet to do that to anyone. He didn't see the streak of coldness that he saw in Itachi in Sasuke. Maybe he was better off for it.

"Please Dei…"

"Of course, Sasu." He answered, pulling the boy the rest of the way into his lap so that he was straddling his waist. He kissed him gently, tangling his fingers in the boy's hair.

Sasuke responded passionately, wrapping his arms around Deidara's neck and pressing himself flush against the bomber's chest. Deidara moaned at the contact, slipping his tongue into Sasuke's mouth. He nipped Sasuke's tongue lightly, twisting his own around it, only pulling away to dispose of their shirts.

"Ahhh…" Sasuke gasped as Deidara's traveling fingers found his nipples, pinching and twisting them to make more sounds pour out of Sasuke's sweet mouth.

"Dei!" He murmured, clinging to the other man as he was tossed onto his back and attacked by Deidara's tongue. He didn't even notice losing the rest of clothes until one of Deidara's hands was on his cock, pumping slowly while the mouth in his hand licked the sensitive skin in time with his pumping.

He cried out, arching off the bed at the continued pleasure as Deidara bit his shoulder, making a cascade of moans pour out of Sasuke's mouth. Deidara bit him again, causing him to squirm, panting.

"Deidara! O-oh god please… Please Dei?" He gasped out, gazing up into Deidara's lust-filled, blue eyes.

"Please what, hm?"

"Ah… F-fuck me…" Sasuke mumbled, blushing bright red.

"Relax, un."

Breathing quickly Sasuke tried to relax, tried not to think about anything but how good this was going to feel…in theory.

Deidara poured lube over his fingers and gently pressed one to his entrance. "Shh, it only burns for a second, yeah." He said in preparation before slowly pushing one finger into that tight heat.

"Nnnh…" Sasuke bit his lip at the discomfort and slight burning sensation. But it quickly felt better when Deidara started slowly pumping his finger in and out. He moaned, relaxing more as he got used to the sensation, pleasure rolling through him every time Deidara thrust his finger into him. And when Deidara added a second finger that wasn't so bad either. and then he curled his fingers and hit something inside of Sasuke that had big sparks of pleasure shooting through his body.

"Ah! Ah!!" He panted, grinding his hips back onto Deidara's fingers, wanting to feel that again.

Deidara scissored him and then hit that spot a few more times until Sasuke was no longer coherent. He pulled his fingers out and Sasuke whined softly.

He lay on his back and pulled Sasuke on top of him, lining him up with his erection. Then he slowly pulled Sasuke down onto his hard cock, watching Sasuke's face as he flinched, then flushed and his breathing grew heavier. Getting a better grip on the boy's hips he helped guide the boy up and down, making Sasuke ride his cock.

"De-Deidara! O-oh my god…" Sasuke stuttered, placing his hands on Deidara's chest so he could ride him easier. "Sooo good! Ah!"

Sasuke's cock bounced with their thrusts, dripping pre-cum onto Deidara's stomach. Deidara licked his lips at the delectable sight Sasuke made: head thrown back in ecstasy, grinding his lithe hips down onto his throbbing cock, a pink flush staining his cheeks, ready to burst. He wanted to make him scream…

He pulled Sasuke down hard at the same time he thrust up, force-fucking him. And Sasuke screamed in pleasure, a high, pure sound that seemed to hang in the air.

"Fuck! Nnnh… Please let me cum!!" Sasuke begged, breathless, unable to stop moaning.

Deidara continued to pound roughly into him and a few thrusts later Sasuke was wailing his release, splattering both their stomachs and tightening impossibly around Deidara. With a loud moan Deidara lost it, shooting his load into Sasuke's tight heat.

Sasuke collapsed onto Deidara's chest, breathing hard, and Deidara wrapped his arms around him. "That…was amazing… Thank you. Thank you…"

Deidara rubbed his back lightly and soon they'd fallen asleep, free not to think of anything except the mind-blowing pleasure they'd just received and whatever their dreams held.

XX

_Sorry again for not updating on time. The next chapter will be out on Sunday as usual, so please review & check for updates! I'm sad to say this story is getting closer to being complete. But we still have a little ways to go. _


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry this post is a little later than I normally post. Finals start tomorrow soooo all I've been doing lately is bio. But I hope you enjoy this!_

_Susana, I like that couple because they're so unique!_

_Lyra, they're going to become part of the plot more as we move along so you'll get to see more of them. Ya, poor Madara's having a bit of a mental breakdown…_

_Pigfish, if Itachi dies I think Sasuke might just go crazy at this point, lol. But I think you'll appreciate the end._

_Eye-freak, thank you! I was really proud of myself for coming p with that._

_Ani, thanks!_

_LovelyMystery, glad you enjoyed it! Are you sure he's dead yet though?_

_EvilRevan, aw, Revan's an awesome character so I don't know how people don't recognize the name. Madara got really attached to Itachi so ya…_

_KakashiXIrukaLover, things are starting to happen now so there's gonna be a lot more plot and of course lots more sex. God choice in backgrounds. _

_Mamima, I thin you'll like this chapter. Hopefully more than the last one since that one was so depressing._

_Black55widow, thanks! Can you guess what's gonna happen next? Lol. _

15

Itachi stumbled along the forest's path, barely able to see where he was going. He'd managed to trick Kakashi's nin dogs and beat the ninja that accompanied them, but only by driving himself to where he had to squint to see where he was going. With a sense of unease he knew that he would be blind very soon, and that this time there would be no cure, temporary or otherwise.

At least he'd managed to run closer to the base. He guessed that he was only a day's travel away but he couldn't be sure. And he wasn't making very quick progress either; the Sharingan was sucking his chakara reserves dry as it fought to stay in control, fought against the descending darkness.

Pain radiated throughout Itachi's body with every step he took as his body fought the inevitable blindness but, to him, it was a small price to pay. No one he cared about had been hurt or killed, and Sasuke knew the truth. Now he had only one mission left: make it back to base so that he could hopefully see Madara and Sasuke one more time before he couldn't see again. And with every step he took, every ragged gasp, all he thought of was returning to them.

XX

"Nani?!" (What?!) Tsunadae snapped, slamming her palm down upon her Hokage's desk, making the old wood groan at the contact. "How can that be?!" She demanded of the cowering ninja, who was the unfortunate one designated to report on the surprise attack on Akatsuki's base.

"Uchiha Madara is supposed to be dead! And _Sasuke_?! He ran off before when he craved power, but I didn't expect him to throw how much he betrayed Konoha back in our faces!!" She breathed heavily, nostrils flared, and the ninja silently prayed to whatever gods were listening that he'd make it out in one piece. "Itachi must have told him…" She murmured, so quietly the ninja before her missed it.

Leaning back in her chair, she turned, gazing out at the sky as she thought heavily about what to do. Kakashi, the jounin, anbu, chunins, everyone who had gone on that mission had been wounded or killed. Guaranteed it had been poorly planned… But what were Akatsuki's motives, their goals? She had to know, but how would she ever find out? The best move would be to incapacitate the entire organization and then extract the information. But that would be neigh on impossible with such a large portion of her best wounded and Naruto to protect. Like the kid or not he harbored the most dangerous demon inside his body. And were her enemies to extract that beast and control it to their own desires, as Madara had done many years before, it would be disastrous. Konohagekure would be destroyed.

So delicate maneuvering was required.

"Inform me of the updates on everyone's condition; I need them healed as soon as possible. When Hatake Kakashi regains consciousness I am to be informed immediately. And get me a member of the team of encoders. Dismissed." She ordered quietly, hoping, praying that this desperate gambit of hers would succeed.

"Hai, Hokage!" The ninja saluted and ran out the door, off to fulfill her orders.

After he was gone she reached for the book containing the status of every nin in the village…

XX

Shizune paused in her rounds only to take a soldier pill, boosting her depleted chakara, and continued to rush from room to room. She healed all of the ninjas that she could and returned to check on their status in regular intervals. All of the other healers rushing about looked as harried as she felt. Shizune couldn't ever remember the hospital being this crowded.

And where was Tsunadae? What was she doing that she wasn't here helping? Not paperwork, that was for sure; if the woman hated anything more than that she had yet to find it. But it had to be something urgent. Tsunadae normally came during crises, lending her famed healing powers to save those who would have otherwise died.

Running a hand through her tangled hair Shizune sighed and began rounds again, wishing war wasn't so gruesome.

XX

Kisame was standing outside of the entrance to the hideout. He didn't really have any reason to be there, but he had wanted to get away from Sasori and Deidara's bickering for a while and Hidan's crazy rituals. So he'd gone outside to look at the stars and have a moment to himself.

He'd been Itachi's partner for seven years and had gotten very close to the man. Now he worried weather or not Itachi was still alive, fighting somewhere. It bothered him to see Sasuke's sad face, Deidara always there to try and cheer him up. To see Madara in agony, unable to pick himself up and keep leading, so much so that everyone had been looking to Pein the last few days. It bothered him because he missed his friend too, but he didn't believe that Itachi would die so easily.

And while he was thinking about Itachi a familiar chakara signal flickered weakly, calling to him. _Itachi's_ chakara signal. Without a second thought he sprinted into the woods, so happy that Itachi was alive he didn't even pause to grab Samehada from where it was leaning against the entranceway, when normally he never went anywhere without it.

When Kisame saw Itachi, however, his stomach churned with pity and sorrow. The man's eyes were milky blue with blindness and he looked blankly at Kisame, grabbing onto a nearby tree for balance.

"Kisame?" He asked, dry voice brittle from days without water.

"It's me, 'Tachi." He murmured, resting his hand on his partner's shoulder. "You made it. And everyone's waiting to see you."

Itachi gave him a small smile, knowing what it took for Kisame to stay calm and not grab him and rush back. Wordlessly he held out his hand and Kisame took it, slowly leading him back to everyone, not asking any useless questions or offering help. He simply let his partner enjoy the silence.

He couldn't help but think of the last time he'd seen Itachi, when he'd been sick at the end of their last mission. He wished he'd said something sooner to him about his eyes, but he knew that Itachi would not have listened. And now that Itachi had fulfilled everything he'd been charged with completing what would he do?

XX

Madara intercepted them, ordered Kisame not to let anyone bother them, and carried Itachi off to his room. His whole body was heavy with relief now that he had his Itachi back; he couldn't imagine finding out that he'd died instead of being warm and alive within his arms. Safe.

"Itachi, 'Tachi, I'm so sorry you had to do that." He said, unable to come to terms with how his student's entire life fate had been so unfair and cruel to him. He kissed him, lingering over his sweet lips, making Itachi smile.

"Aishiteru, Madara." (I love you, Madara.) Itachi said, pulling him close and closing his eyes. His eyes, which were no longer of any use to anyone or any cause.

Madara kissed his forehead, took his hand and laced his fingers through his. "'Tachi?"

"Hm?"

"How much do you trust me?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow as if to ask why, but answered anyway. "With my life. You've kept Sasuke safe when you didn't have to and you've helped me a lot when there was no benefit to you. And I know you'd never hurt me on purpose either."

"Good. Because, after you rest, I can heal your eyes, make them like mine if you'll let me."

"Not-"

"Not Sasuke, not that long-lost relative." Madara confirmed.

Itachi's sudden silence asked the question for him.

"I don't know if it will work for sure. In theory it should. We're both part of the Uchiha clan and so we both possess the Sharingan. If we were to switch eyes than we should both have eyes like mine."

"And if it fails you'll go blind too."

"I'm not about to let you stay blind when I know you've never wanted it, when your hand was forced to obtain the mangekyo in the first place. Please, let me try, Itachi. I want to do this for you."

"If I wanted to stay this way…?"

"Then I'll stay with you and love you still. But I don't think you'll be happy like this."

When Itachi still hesitated Madara kissed him again, whispering, "Onegai." (Please.)

And when Itachi finally nodded Madara's face broke into a smile. "I'll make this work, koi. But it's going to be painful…" (I'll make this work, love.)

Itachi only smiled & squeezed his hand gently.

XX

_So yea, poor Itachi finally went blind. Do you guys Madara will be able to fix it or are they both gonna end up blind? Please review & check for updates!!_


	16. Chapter 16

_This chapter was really interesting to write, because of a shocker I've been saving for a while. So I hope you guys enjoy it! _

_Att, Thanks for catching up. School sucks when it gets in the way, & I think I know which chapter you're talking about. Thanks for the advice!_

_Lyra, you're close to guessing part of the ending, so I'd say pay attention to what Itachi's thinking & Kakashi's plotting in this chapter._

_evilRevan, Itachi survives in this fic so far because I love him, lol. Hopefully you'll like the ending._

_Yumemi, now that you have an account are you going to post stories? Haha, you caught me. I like my fluff now & then. I'm a bio major so I couldn't help but put some surgery in…_

_Pigfish, yep, they're gonna trade eyes. Although they don't have any guarantee if it'll work or not. _

_Artistic Wolf, Madar's definitely going to try his best to fix it._

_HIddenWithinDreams, don't worry. This chapter hints at the ending, which isn't too grim, depending on who you like._

_KakashiXIrukaLover, yay! I love chocolate, lol. I'm sooo glad finals are over though, because now I can write this all the time. _

_Seellike, thanks! Madara would give a lot to make Itachi happy._

_XxTacoNikkixX, thanks! I've managed to get myself addicted to writing it, lol._

_Black55widow, thanks! Maybe you'll end up guessing the ending. _

_Lady Ducan, ya it was hard for me to make him blind, but it's more realistic & Madara might be able to fix him, so it's ok. _

_Ani, thanks! So far they're all living, although I can't promise anything for the last two chapters._

16

Sasuke was ecstatic that his brother was back and alive, but pissed that Kisame wouldn't let him see his nii-san. It wasn't fair; Kisame had gotten to see him! Kisame had told him that Itachi and Madara were doing something about Itachi's eyes…because his big brother was now blind. He blamed himself. If he hadn't been there would Itachi have let the group attack the nin dogs and ninjas? Was he to blame for his brother once again taking the fall, getting the short end of the stick?

He slumped against Deidara's bedroom wall, _trying_ to pay attention to his boyfriend's ramblings about true art, to no avail. Although it did get his attention when Deidara accidentally set off one of his clay birds, ruining the puppet Sasori was working on. It was quite entertaining to watch the ensuing fight, even tough his chest felt like it had a hole in it.

XX

"How are you going to do this without seeing what you're doing?"

"I'll do one eye at a time. Besides, I did this once before, koi." (love) Madara assured Itachi.

Itachi was lying on Madara's bed, on his back, trying to steel his nerves for when Madara plucked his eyes from his head. He wasn't anywhere near comfortable with the idea, even though he trusted his lover. He couldn't relax.

Madara kissed his forehead, lacing his fingers through Itachi's. "You can't move, because then I might damage the eyes." Itachi nodded. "Ready?"

"Just do it." The longer they waited the more time it gave them to lose their nerve. So they might as well just get it over with.

Madara's fingers closed in a strong grip on his chin so that he couldn't turn away. Fear fluttered and clenched in his stomach. Madara stroked his face briefly with his free hand, as if in apology for what was about to come. Then he dug his fingers into Itachi's eye socket, near the lids, pushing through the muscle…

Itachi tried to turn away but Madara's fingers held fast to his chin, holding him in place as pain gnawed at him from Madara's ministrations. He gripped the bed-sheets in a fist, breathing through clenched teeth as he fought to stay still. Then Madara, who had gotten his fingers in far enough, quickly pulled his eye out.

Nerves and muscle snapped and Itachi screamed, a loud, high keening noise. He pressed his hand over his eye, blood seeping out from beneath his hand so that it looked like he was crying blood. Madara hugged him tightly as he gasped, trying to calm down.

"Gomen." (Sorry.) He murmured, letting go of Madara.

"Don't be. I'll probably scream too." Madara gently put Itachi's eye into a clean container, then raised his bloodied hand to his own face. Itachi's hand found his and squeezed. Then one side of his face was on fire as his fingers ripped his muscle and pulled his eye out of it's home.

"Argh! Ah…" He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he tried not to think about what he was doing. Damn it hurt…

Taking a deep breath he tipped Itachi's face up and popped his eye into Itachi's empty socket. When he was certain it was in correctly he sent healing chakara from his fingers into Itachi's new eye, reknitting the severed muscles and nerves. He did the same for himself. Half way there…

They both screamed at the loss of their other eye and neither relaxed until both eyes were in, healed, and gauze was wrapped around their heads like a blindfold. The 'blindfold' had to stay on until the healing was completely finished, which Madara said only took a day.

Itachi lay there, pressed against Madara's side as the other man slept. Before Madara performed the operation he'd felt like he was working out of a prison, with clear boundaries that he couldn't cross. And even after he'd done all he could for Konoha and Sasuke he still felt trapped, but hadn't been able to think of why. Now he knew it was because he'd known he was doomed. Doomed to die without saying good-bye to his brother, who he'd given up everything for. Doomed to go blind and die a criminal's death. He'd been trapped behind the perfect bars of the lie he'd told so that he'd been able to do his duty, trapped behind sterilized bars.

And Madara had set him free, helped him to crush those bars and go beyond dead expectations, to do what he wanted. If Madara hadn't pushed for him to steal Sasuke's eyes then he'd probably never have told Sasuke the truth, just let Sasuke kill him and go on with his life. Let Sasuke hate and blame him. But in the end truth was always better, even if it wasn't what you wanted to believe. Because there is no such thing as a fairy tale ending.

Even though Madara had tried to make him take Sasuke's eyes he'd redeemed himself by saving Sasuke, and trying to save Itachi's sight to the point of risking blindness himself. And that was when Itachi realized that he was really, deeply in love with Madara.

XX

Tsunadae dictated to the encoder how she wanted Gaara, the current Kazekage, to travel to Konoha so that they could combine forces and move against a common threat, the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki had to be eliminated because they were too dangerous and no one knew their agenda. Akatsuki was a demon stealer and would probably start taking over villages next. It was rumored that Pein was the 'god' of Amegakure, so they already had one village under their control. And with Uchiha Madara leading them it couldn't be anything good; the man was a crazy sadist.

She watched as the encoder sent the bird off, flying off toward Suna as fast as it could go. She was still watching when a ninja interrupted her, barging into her office.

"Hokage, Kakashi-san is awake!"

She smiled. "Excellent."

XX

"Ohayoo gozaimasu, Tsunadae." (Good morning, Tsunadae.) Kakashi greeted her, his mask still hiding his smile even though he was in the hospital. It was a constant source of curiosity for the nurses but none of them had managed to part him from it yet.

She nodded to him. "You know why I'm here?"

"Yes." _Most unfortunately_, he thought.

"Then you know what I'm going to ask you to do?"

He looked away, gazing out the window. An image of team three popped into his head and he closed his eyes, steeling himself; he wished the third were here. How had the man not seen the evil lurking in two of his students?

"I refuse." His voice was flat.

Tsunadae's eyes narrowed, her usual demeanor dissipating. "Excuse me?" She hissed quietly, malice coating her words. "If you don't continue to listen to me than I will ruin not only you but this dump of a village you care so much about!"

The tomoes of his Sharingan swirled, betraying his agitation. And then, all of a sudden, he knew what he had to do to save the village from the money hungry, evil Tsunadae.

Bowing his head, he nodded jerkily. "I…I apologize, Hokage." He mumbled submissively.

"Hm." She smirked, eerily reminding him of Orochimaru for a moment. "Good. Then you'll find Sasuke and kill him; I believe he's at Akatsuki's base at the moment. Make it look like Itachi did it so we'll have the village's sympathy and rage. Then they'll fight Akatsuki seriously and Gaara will be more likely to aid us. This is an A-ranked mission; screw it up and you're dead."

"Hai, Hokage! I won't fail."

"You're to be released from the hospital today. As soon as you're free leave on your mission." Then her kind mask was back and she was gone, cheerily greeting Shizune in the hallway. _Two-faced bitch…_

But Kakashi had found out the truth about the Uchiha massacre without Tsunadae's knowledge. And if Itachi really loved Konoha as much as it seemed he did… Well then he could kill Tsunadae and help Kakashi save the village. He just hoped he'd succeed in betraying Tsunadae and in getting Itachi to help him. Because, if he didn't, he didn't know what would happen to his beloved Konoha and the people in it…

XX

_This story is almost over, as much as I hate for it to have to end. There will most likely only be two more chapters left, with another surprise in store. The next chapter will be out on Sunday as always. Have a good holiday, whatever you guys celebrate! & don't forget to check for updates & review!!_


	17. Chapter 17

_I hope everyone had a good Christmas, or whatever else you celebrate! _

_There was some confusion about whether or not Itachi & Madara were blind & how could they see. Whether they can see or not is revealed in this chapter; when Sasuke was talking with his brother in the last chapter he was still blindfolded by the gauze. In the last chapter I explain why & how the operation worked. But I decided to make this chapter shorter, because the last chapter is long so I thought it would balance itself out. _

_Lyra, thanks! There's one or two more twists ahead._

_Yumemi, I have nothing personal against Tsunadae; she just happens to be the bad guy in this fic. I'll have to read them sometime. _

_Pigfish, yay! I'm so happy you noticed I put the title in there. Don't worry, he'll get to see him. _

_Nyny, thanks! I'm really gald you took the time to read my story & review!_

_Artistic Wolf, yep! Wouldn't it be weird if they were?_

_evilRevan, thanks1 I'm addicted to plot twists. I wanted to add in more characters, like Kakai, because they're awesome & I think it's more believable if you see more than just two or three people besides Itachi & Madara. Otherwise it'd be like a deserted island, lol. _

_KakashiXIraukaLover, yay cookies! ___

_Ani, yep Tsunadae's the bad guy. Although only Kakashi knows so far so hopefully he'll be able to save the village. _

_LovelyMystery, they're not blind. You'll see in this chapter._

_Black55widow, I like plot twists because they keep you interested, as long as they're not all over the place, lol. _

17

Itachi slowly peeled the gauze away from his skin, holding his breath. What if he'd let Madara go blind by allowing him to perform the operation? What would he do if he couldn't see? Without eyes you couldn't be a ninja for long.

The gauze fell away. And he could see. A smile blossomed on his face as he turned to Madara, who had just finished unwrapping his own gauze. Fascinated by the details he could see now he reached out, running his fingers lightly down Madara's cheek.

"Can you…?" He breathed.

Madara smiled. "Of course we can see, 'Tachi. I'd never let anything bad happen to you."

"Thank you! Madara…" Itachi said, throwing his arms around his sensei in a tight embrace. Madara hugged him back, pecking him on the cheek. Itachi pulled back enough to kiss his lips, letting Madara pull him into his lap.

"I think we should celebrate the success of the operation." Madara murmured in Itachi's ear, lightly nipping his earlobe.

"Lecherous old man." Itachi teased, kissing the tip of his nose. One shove later and Itachi was on his back, hands pinned above his head, Madara between his thighs.

"Someone needs to be punished for his big mouth." He purred, leaning down to steal another kiss from Itachi's sweet lips.

"Then take me." He murmured back.

XX

"Nooo! No, don't!!" Sasuke squealed, squirming away from Deidara's tickling fingers. He almost managed to free himself, but at the last second Deidara got a good grip on his ankle and dragged him back.

"Rug burn!" He smacked Deidara's arm playfully.

Deidara smiled. "You're all pink, Sasu." Sasuke blushed at the nickname. "Awww."

"Urasai!" (Shut up!) He snapped, flushing more.

"Ohh, you're asking for it now, _Sasu_." Deidara was about to continue his tickling when the door opened. The look on Pein's face was priceless; he probably thought that they were the middle of something else.

He cleared his throat. "I need you two to patrol the perimeter. Zetsu's reported strange chakaras nearby and I want you to check it out."

"Hai, Sir Leader."

"Pein-sama?" Sasuke called after him as he turned to leave. Pein looked at him, wondering what he wanted. "Do you know…if my brother and Madara can see?"

Something resembling relief flickered across Pein's face, but just as soon it was gone. "Yes, they can both see." He turned away from their happy exclamations, heading back to his office. One thing was for sure: he was never opening another door without knocking first. Some things he didn't want to see.

XX

Kakashi leapt to the forest's floor, his faithful nin dogs right behind him. He was tired from running so far in so short a time but he wasn't about to give up; the village depended on his success. So he kept running, ignoring Pakken's suggestions to stop for a rest.

He was so close now. But he knew the hard part was yet to begin.

XX

Madara kissed slowly down Itachi's chest, loving the sounds Itachi made for him. He brushed his fingers teasingly across his nipple, then took his hand away.

"Madara, please…" Itachi murmured, pressing up against him.

Madara smirked, leaning down to take his nipple in his mouth.

"Ah!" Itachi gasped.

Madara's wandering hand found it's way between his legs and he began pumping Itachi's shaft slowly, relishing how his student writhered beneath him, gasping and moaning his name.

He slid down Itachi's body and licked his way from his base to his shaft. Then he took him into his mouth, sucking hard.

"Ah, ah, ah! O-oh shit…" Itachi gasped, tangling his fingers in Madara's hair. "Y-your mouth is so f-fucking hot!"

Madara bobbed his head up and down Itachi's cock, his cheeks hollowing out as he sucked when he slid back down to Itachi's tip. He swirled his tongue over Itachi's head and Itachi arched off the bed, moaning loudly.

"M-Madara!! Nnh…" He moaned wantonly.

He stopped sucking Itachi off just long enough to coat his fingers in lube. Then he pressed his fingers to his lover's entrance, lapping up the generous precum oozing from Itachi's slit.

Itachi panted, gasping for breath, as he pushed back against the intruding finger, begging Madara to give him more. Then Madara was thrusting two fingers inside him, still sucking on his cock, and he screamed. It felt so fucking good, pleasure wracking his body, making his toes curl. He squirmed, unable to keep from begging for more.

"Nnh… Oh my god! Se-sensei please harder!" Unconsciously, he spread his legs more. "Please fuck me master!!" He moaned over and over, clenching the fingers buried in Madara's hair. He wanted Madara inside of him so badly…

"You want me to fuck you, hm?" Madara asked, gazing into Itachi's lust-filled eyes.

"Yes!" He gasped as Madara scissored his fingers. "Please baby?" He breathed.

Madara barely took the time to smear lube on his cock, he wanted to fuck Itachi so badly. Then he was thrusting into Itachi, moaning at how tight and hot his student was around his throbbing cock.

"A-ah! Ah, ha…ha…" Itachi wrapped his legs around Madara's waist, gazing up at him. Madara laced his fingers through Itachi's and held his gaze as he thrusted into his student.

"Touch yourself." He ordered breathlessly.

With his free hand, Itachi reached between their bodies, pumping his cock in time with Madara's thrusts. And all too soon he was cumming, wailing his release. Madara was right behind him, lost in the red of Itachi's gaze as he came.

XX

"_Kakai-sensei_?!" Sasuke half asked half yelled, crashing out from behind a tree. Deidara sighed, following him; the boy was doing a better job of being more noticeable than Naruto today. Of course he couldn't really blame him. The last time he'd seen his sensei, excluding the raid, had been a long time ago.

Kakashi looked just as startled to see Sasuke. Pakken moved up by Sasuke, sniffing him suspiciously. Ever since the boy had left Pakken hadn't been able to say he could still blindly trust Sasuke like Naruto and Sakura did. But the kid smelled alright, more like laundry soap than weapons. And the blonde, Deidara he thought his name was, smelled like gunpowder.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi's eye crinkled at the corner and Sasuke knew he was smiling. "I could ask the same of you, Sasuke-kun. But I came because I need to see your brother."

"Nii-san? Dooshite?" (Big brother? Why?)

"You'll see. I only want to have to say this once because I can't afford to waste time." Kakashi replied.

Deidara didn't like how ominous that sounded. "Why should I bring you back to our base when you were one of the ninjas in the raid on our last base?"

Kakashi's expression turned melancholy. "I no longer answer to Tsunadae."

Deidara wanted to demand proof, but the dropped honorific and the other's expression piqued his interest. And it was only one ninja, who'd been beaten by them once before. He weighed his options for a second but in the end curiosity won out.

"Follow me."

XX

_The last chapter will have a midnight release on this Saturday going into Sunday. I'm so excited to see everyone thinks of the end! Please review & check for the last chapter at midnight!!_


	18. Chapter 18

_First of all I want of say that I'm really sad that I didn't get to do the midnight release. I was really excited to do it but Saturday afternoon I decided to collapse and take an impromptu trip to the ER; I didn't get back til well after midnight. I'm finally feeling better & am out of that god forsaken bed, so I'm sorry if you were looking the post & it wasn't there! I'm better now too so yay! _

_Artistic Wolf, I had to hype up the last chapter! _

_Sesshomaru's wifey, I will! This chapter is extra long. _

_Ariya Kata and Lizzie Strong, sorry about that._

_Susana, I'm considering a sequel. But I don't know yet. _

_Nyny, happy new year! Even though it's a little late, lol. I'm sure you'll be able to write in English one day if you keep at it. _

_KakashiXIrukaLover, thanks! I hope you really like this chapter. _

_XxTacoNikkixX, thanks!_

_evilRevan, good things go by fast don't they? I'm thinking about a sequel, but I don't know yet. _

_RyouSeiryuu, thanks!_

_Black55widow, sorry. Thanks & I hope you like the ending!_

_Ani, yep, this chapter is reallllly long. & awesome. _

'_cause I feel like it, lol sorry! This chapter is worth waiting for though!_

_Pigfish, unless I'm blind you didn't review ya dirty animal! Lol. (I know this person)_

_**Final chapter!! Yay! I hope you guys enjoy. **_

18

Deidara showed Kakashi to a room that was sparsely furnished. It had only a few couches and an old, worn rug. It seemed this was one of the Akatsuki's older bases. He wondered how often they stayed in their different bases if at all; the teams seemed to do countless missions at times and at others seemed to almost disappear.

He'd just taken a seat on one of the couches when Itachi appeared in the doorway, for once not wearing his Akatsuki cloak. His hair was down, looking as though he'd slept on it and just run his fingers through it. His eyes still swirled with the Sharingan and Kakashi wondered how much longer the man had until he went blind.

"Konbanwa, Kakashi-san." (Good evening, Mr. Kakashi) He greeted him, sitting on the couch closest to his. Deidara and Sasuke sat next to Itachi, Sasuke watching his brother with a smile.

"Konbanwa." Kakashi paused for a minute, organizing his thoughts. "I came here originally on Tsunadae's orders, but I could never carry out the mission she's given me. So I let her think that's why I came here, that I'm still loyal to her, but in reality I've come to ask for your help.

"Tsunadae's evil. She only took the position of Hokage to gain the power she craves. She's been stealing from Konoha to pay off her debts and hoarding more money elsewhere. Some of her Anbu are loyal only to her and haven't been seen in Konoha for months, except after dark when they're sometimes seen on the borders. I don't know all of her plan, but I'm guessing this: she wants Akatsuki eradicated and wants to take over the sand.

"Suna and Konoha are the two strongest villages at the moment, so she'll want Suna. She's already manipulating Gaara to go to Konoha, where she'll probably kill him. She ordered me to come here to murder Sasuke and make it look like you did it, so she'd have the people's anger and sympathy and they would overlook her future actions for a time. So I wanted to ask you if you would help.

"I'm the only one who knows she's not what she pretends to be. And I know how much you love the village because I found out the truth about the Uchiha massacre; so I came here to ask for your help in once again saving Konoha."

Itachi hadn't so much as blinked during his rendition of Tsunadae's faults and crimes, not even when he mentioned Sasuke's murder. His face wore it's typical, blank mask, whereas Sasuke and Deidara looked pissed. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak but Itachi raised a hand, silencing him before he said anything.

"And why can't you kill Tsunadae? You're the famous copy nin, a former member of Anbu, now one of the most revered sensei. What's holding you back from killing Tsunadae with Pakken and your other dogs and saving the village yourself?" Itachi asked.

Kakashi smiled ruefully, glancing away from the bloody gaze of the Uchiha for a moment. "Gai knew too." He said quietly. "Gai was just as strong as I am, just as good a ninja; he disappeared. Tsunadae told everyone at the funeral that he'd been sent on a solo mission and had died from wounds sustained during it. I know she killed him but I can't prove it. I'm not strong enough to kill Tsunadae, but you are."

"Gai…" Sasuke murmured, not able to imagine Konoha without the 'spring of youth' obsessed sensei. For all his annoyances Gai had never been mean to anyone and had always gone out of his way to protect everyone. Sasuke would miss him, so he couldn't imagine how Neji, Tenten, and Lee must feel. Especially Lee.

"Did you see the body?"

"Nii-san!" Sasuke said, surprised that he'd ask such a thing. _Way to be compassionate. _

"No. Why?"

"Tsunadae may be a skilled med nin, but with your Sharingan you would have been able to see the chakara flow that had been cut with her scalpel." Kakashi looked devastated that there was a possibility Itachi didn't believe him. "But I've met her and I believe you. There's something off about her…"

"So will you help?" Kakashi asked again, praying that Itachi would grant him the succor he so desperately needed. He didn't want anyone else to die by Tsunadae's hand.

Itachi was still a little surprised at the situation: that Tsunadae had sunk so low, and that Kakashi had come to him for help. True, he had other obligations now, but Konoha…

"And if Tsunadae gets Gaara to lend Suna's support? I can't defeat an army. But…stay here a minute." Itachi left, leaving behind three confused ninja. A little while later he was back, leading Madara into the room by the hand. Kakashi tried not to stare.

Madara smirked, noticing how the copy nin pointedly stared anywhere but at their joined hands. "Akatsuki will make sure Itachi can get close enough to Tsunadae to kill her."

Kakashi's jaw dropped. "You're…you're _helping_ Konoha?! _You?_ This isn't to get close enough to steal Naruto, is it?" He blurted out, immediately suspicious.

"No, if I wanted the boy I'd have him already. I'm helping because 'Tachi asked." Madara pulled Itachi close to him, slipping an arm around his waist.

"Oh." Kakashi couldn't help staring for a minute. "Arigato gozaimasu!" (Thank you very much!)

"We'll leave tomorrow morning so I suggest you get some rest, Kakashi; you look like shit."

_Thank you, Madara._

XX

Tsunadae paced back and forth in her office, impatiently waiting for Gaara's answer. She couldn't wait until the little boy arrived. Once he did and once Sasuke was dead the stage would be set for her final act. And then she'd have what she wanted most.

She giggled to herself, imagining. "Oh Dan, you'd love this! If only you were here to see…" Things had never been the same since Dan died. Not for her; the happiness seeped out of her as she remembered… His smile. That was what she missed most.

A bird swooped in the window, interrupting her depressing thoughts as it landed on her desk, a scroll clutched in it's talons. She practically ripped the scroll away from it, startling the bird into flight and back out the window as she hurried to unroll it.

_- Hokage, _

_I am well aware that Akatsuki is a common enemy of ours, but I don't see how scheming together will solve the problem. Unless you know the location of their base, or some weaknesses that they possess, it's a waste of time for me to travel to another village. Until then, _

_- Gaara_

With an inarticulate howl of rage she threw the scroll across the room. She _needed_ Gaara for it to work! Throwing the window open farther she hissed, "Get in here" to the hidden Anbu on the roof.

A scrawny man, dressed all in black with the mask of a dog, leapt in the window and kneeled in front of the Hokage. "Hai, Tsunadae-sama?" (Yes, Lord Tsunadae?)

She smirked at the honorific, loving the feeling of having power over another. "I need you to fake some information on the Akatsuki's base locations and weaknesses, and I want it by the end of the day. Make it believable." She ordered.

"Hai, Tsunadae-sama!" The scarecrow of a man said again, disappearing out the window.

One way or another she would get Gaara to come to her. And then she would get what she'd been working towards. A smile spread across her face as she thought about it… Her own piece of heaven…

XX

"Why the fuck are we doing that?!" Hidan's voice came from the kitchen, where Kakuzu was telling him to get ready to leave in the morning. Sasuke stopped to listen; he couldn't explain why but he thought Hidan's filthy mouth was really funny to listen to.

"It's another mission, genius." Kakuzu's sarcastic response wasn't far behind.

"Shut the fuck up, ya bastard heathen." Hidan snarled.

Sasuke wasn't sure if the two loved or hated each other with how much they fought. Most times he thought it was hate but every now and then one of them would say or do something to make him wonder.

"And if you don't shut up I'll sew your filthy mouth shut."

When the sounds of breaking plates started from, what Sasuke assumed was Kakuzu wrestling Hidan to the floor to sew his mouth closed, he decided it was a good time to move on. He definitely didn't feel like meeting a pissed Hidan anywhere alone today, funny as it would be to see him unable to talk or yell at anyone.

XX

Akatsuki, Kakashi and his nin dogs, and Sasuke leapt from tree to tree, following Itachi and Madara. Hidan was thankfully silent for the moment, although how long that would last was anyone's guess. From the hateful glances he kept throwing at Kakuzu not much longer.

Pakken had decided to run next to Itachi and was reminiscing about when Itachi had been a boy, before everything had gotten complicated by grudges and power and spying. Sasuke ran next to his old sensei, asking about Naruto and Sakura. He wasn't surprised to find out that Sakura had passed her chuunin test while Naruto had botched it. Knowing Naruto, he wouldn't stop until he passed it, so Sasuke didn't feel too bad for him; Naruto would hate his pity anyway.

Kakashi was nothing short of shocked to find about the eye switch but didn't say much on the topic, mulling it over as he ran.

Close to nightfall they stopped to rest. As Hidan and Zetsu were gathering wood for a fire, Sasuke asked Itachi a question that had been nagging at the back of his mind for a few days.

"Nii-san, why did the operation work?" Everyone instantly became quieter, wanting to hear as well.

Itachi smirked, amused by their behavior. "When you attain the Mangekyo Sharingan more power is focused in your eyes than you have the potential to achieve. Instead of being absorbed by the body the excess power eats away at the sensory nerves in our eyes, blinding us over a prolonged period of time.

"Everyone's Mangekyo is different. So when we trade eyes it solves the problem. Instead of our power eating away at our nerves it makes us immortal, because the excess power is absorbed into our body. It only saves us from going blind because it's not our eyes; think of it as an organ transplant. If I transplanted my heart into your body your body would accept it and use it as if you were born with it.

"The reason it has to be another Uchiha's eyes is the genetic make-up. If it was a non-Uchiha's eyes than your body would reject the transplant."

Sasuke was silent for a moment, thinking about the explanation his brother had just given. "But… I still don't understand. Why does transplanting the eyes allow you to be immortal?"

"The Mangekyo Sharingan is a savage power. It requires you to kill the person closest to you, your best friend, in order to attain it. Then it drives you closer to blindness every time you use it, so that you, in effect, kill someone else for their eyes.

"It makes us immortal because the power isn't trapped in our eyes anymore; it's in our entire body. But it comes at a high price."

"It's that powerful?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi nodded.

Madara chuckled. "I don't think I ever heard you talk so much, 'Tachi."

Sasuke laughed as Itachi shoved Madara's shoulder in retaliation. Immortality… Sasuke would have loved to live forever but he didn't think he could pay the price to get there. He watched his brother with new eyes, for the first time wondering what it had cost Itachi to kill Shisui, slaughter the clan and play the bad guy. Walk away.

Well, now he would get to play the hero by killing Tsunadae. And maybe he'd let himself take the credit he deserved all those years ago when he saved Konoha. Then again, knowing Itachi he'd probably just smile and walk away.

XX

Tsunadae lovingly laid out the forbidden scrolls across the floor of her office. Gaara had consented to come after being tantalized with the fictional weaknesses and whereabouts of the Akatsuki.

To get what she wanted all she had to do was kill Gaara and then kill Naruto; she needed their demons. She clapped her hands together, smiling wistfully. She'd wanted this for years and now she was finally going to get it. It was too good to be true.

"You see, Dan? You're finally coming home!" Her happy tears dropped onto the back of her hand as she remembered his perfect smile.

XX

Gaara had only just arrived in Konoha late yesterday and already the alarms were sounding. This village had rotten luck. But he'd found Akatsuki; they were currently storming the walls of the village, beating back Anbu.

Temari was begging him to run, tugging on his arm, but he was rooted to the spot, arguing with Shukaku. _I want to fight, but this isn't my fight. If I die here there's no one ready in line to become the next Kazekage. So I'll have to run for now, because if I die I'm abandoning my village to a weak leader. _

_**No you're not. Just let me do the work; I want to come out and play!! **_Shukaku squealed inside his head.

"I said no." Gaara hissed out from between ground teeth, causing Temari and Kankuro to look at him funny. He twisted his fingers in his hair, trying to blot out the demon's voice.

_**See?! See how they want to leave you? They hate you, Gaara. You have only the sand and me. So let us play. **_Shukaku cooed.

_No!! _Gaara yelled back at him, fingers convulsing in his hair. _That's not true! Naruto showed me that I'm not alone. And the villagers trust me now; I'm their Kazekage. Temari and Kankuro are only worried so shut up! _

Shukaku fell curiously silent and Gaara breathed a sigh of relief.

"_Cmon_ Gaara! Please…" Temari pleaded, kneeling in front of him. She'd been tapping his face lightly, trying to get his attention.

He shook his head, coming back to reality. "Right, lets get out of here for now."

Gaara hated to turn tail and run but sometimes that's what you had to do for the long haul. 

XX

Hidan sliced off a man's head, sending it rolling out of sight among the slaughter. Laughing he twirled the three bladed scythe overhead, eviscerating a woman who got too close. Her guts spilled out around her hands as she desperately tried to hold them in; dark and slimy they looked like so much rope.

Kakuzu stepped on them with a smirk, thriving on the scream that rent the air. If Hidan loved carnage Kakuzu adored it. The man was a true sadist. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tsunadae turn tail and run like a coward, most of the Anbu staring in disbelief after her. Itachi wasn't far behind her, chasing her further into the village. And then Madara, who seemed incapable of leaving Itachi's side for long.

Hidan smirked, that just left more for him. He moved through Konoha's ranks, trying to listen to his orders not to kill, and failing. Jashin needed sacrifices.

XX

Itachi had chased Tsunadae to the top of the Hokage's building and cornered her. She was scared and bleeding, a mad glint in her eye. A good chunk of Konoha's population had gathered below, cheering their 'hero' Hokage on.

"Back off traitor!" She hissed, clutching a kunai.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm the traitor when I followed orders? What does that make you then? You who murdered Gai for knowing too much, who planned a child's murder because it was convenient for you."

"Shut up!" She shrieked, throwing herself at him.

He dodged to the side, side-kicking the small of her back as she flew by. She fell with a grunt of pain. For as far as the woman was pushing herself, and as out there as she was, he knew that he still couldn't get hit by one her attacks; the woman's super strength might be his undoing.

"Why are you doing this?" He didn't expect an answer.

"For Dan!" She looked past him at someone, then snapped her gaze back to him. "I looked and looked and then I found it. If I could harness the power of two demons then I could bring someone back to life. So I lured Gaara here. I was going to kill him and that brat Naruto but _you_ had to interfere! I was going to use their demons to bring Dan back to life so I could see him again. I've been stealing money so we could run away and not have to worry about anything… I just…need Dan…" Her ranting subsided to sobs. Itachi wasn't fooled for a second.

But Naruto was. "Tsu-Tsunadae?" Naruto's uncertain voice came from behind Itachi.

"And you'll be the first to die!" She snarled, lunging forward, all pretense of sorrow gone. The woman really was an excellent actor.

Tsunadae's loyal Anbu flooded the rooftop, preventing Itachi from getting near either Tsunadae or Naruto. The crowd below was utterly silent, shocked by the betrayal and the unlikely savoir.

Madara leapt onto the roof, throwing himself into the midst of Tsunadae's deadly Anbu. The first one he reached couldn't dodge in time and had his ear sliced off by Madara's blade. The man screamed, pain ripping through his head, blinding him to the oncoming attack. Next he lost an arm, severed at the elbow, blood spraying everywhere. The man howled like an animal, falling to his knees as Madara beheaded him. Then the father of the Uchiha clan was moving on, butchering others.

Itachi shoved people aside, trying to get to Naruto, who stood frozen, blue eyes wide. "Amaterasu!" He set the roof on fire, black flames eating away at flesh that melted like wax. Their screams were the screams of the damned, washing over the horrified crowd below in an eerie chorus.

A few still stood in his way. He could see Tsunadae raising the kunai, Naruto still frozen, lips trembling. He slammed his hand into the Anbu's chest, crushing his heart and flinging him into the other two. They fell back into the flames, shrieking as the black flames caught.

Then he was throwing himself between Tsunadae and Naruto, no time to block, just time enough to get in the way. A line of fire burned down the left side of his face as Tsunadae's kunai cut deep, blood exploding in his vision. Someone was screaming…Naruto; the demon carrier was terrified. Then all the breath went out of him as one of her punches connected, knocking him half way across the roof. He swore he heard his ribs crack; breathing was agony. He looked up, Sharingan swirling madly; he wasn't going to die here!

Flinging kunai in front of him he raced back to the Hokage, jumping over the bodies the kunai struck down. The roof was caving in, fire spreading, people shrieking, sobbing, begging. The whole thing was going to hell. But all Itachi could see was Tsunadae. And the bitch wouldn't look at him.

He was vaguely aware of Madara grabbing Naruto and disappearing, of the rest of Akatsuki appearing on the ground with the crowd, Sasuke yelling encouragement with everyone else. It could have been a different world for all he was aware of them.

Tsunadae threw another punch, aiming for his throat; she intended to break his adam's apple and watch him suffocate. He stepped to the left, grabbing her wrist and slamming his free hand into her elbow, forcing it to bend the opposite way. She screamed, high and loud, as her elbow shattered. He didn't stop there, driving his elbow home in her ribs, feeling them crack. Then he threw her, dropping his knee into her gut and punching her in the face. Her head snapped back, ruined nose spraying blood.

She was snarling like a wounded dog, cursing.

"Tsunadae!" He yelled, slapping her face. But she wouldn't look at him, wouldn't say why she'd done it; she had to have known it would never have worked. So he snapped her neck and was done with it.

He turned, surprised by the size of the crowd, their noise rushing in suddenly as if someone had just turned the volume back up. Blood dripping down his face he leapt down to join them. And they welcomed him. Cheered for him.

_Epilogue_

Konoha, thanks to Kakashi, learned the truth of the Uchiha massacre and everything that Tsunadae had been doing. Naruto in particular was crushed by Tsunadae's lies, clinging to the necklace she'd given him, but the boy would bounce back. He always did.

The village was horrified by the monster they'd endearingly called 'Hokage'. The village elders had retreated for a time to pick a new Hokage and Madara had to restrain Hidan from killing people to sacrifice to Jashin-sama.

Itachi's ribs healed but his beautiful face was permanently scarred. Madara was pissed at Tsunadae but didn't love Itachi any less for it. Their relationship ended up spreading quite a bit of rumors across Konoha…

And when the village elders asked Itachi to be Hokage it wasn't too much of a surprise. So it was decided that Pein would rule Akatsuki, whose goals had never been disclosed, until Madara returned with Itachi. Itachi agreed to rule for a decade only, long enough for a new Hokage to come along; he didn't want to usurp the Hokage's power and rule forever since he was immortal. And until then Madara would stay with him, in Konoha.

And so Itachi and Madara got to have their very own fairy tale.

_End_

_So that's it. Please review & let me know what you think! I'm thinking about a sequel to this. But my next story is going to be called Broken Butterfly, & will be dedicated to Ani. The first chapter for Broken Butterfly will be out a week this Sunday. It's a Madara/Sasuke story set in an insane asylum. So I hope you'll all read that too! _


End file.
